The Uzumaki Identity
by ShatteredTwilight
Summary: A young man wakes up in a coastal village in the Land of Lightning. With no memory, impressive skills, and a mysterious seal on his stomach; Rosuto Nagori searches for who he was all while fending off Konoha Anbu and the organization known as Akatsuki.
1. Prologue

Author's Notes

Hi and welcome to my story. This is the first one that I have written for public viewing. Anyway I recently finished reading "The Bourne Identity" and thought it would be interesting to see what would happen to our favorite, obnoxious blond ninja if he wound up in the same spot. Of course the book is only going to be a loose guide line so there's a good chance a majority of the plot won't have anything to do with the actual book's story line. Well enjoy and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, Nor do I own The Bourne Identity or any of its characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Robert Ludlum respectively.

The Uzumaki Identity

Prologue:

_Somewhere off the coast of the Land of Lightning:_

Rain beat down on a small ship along the coast of the Land of Lightning. Most people from the country's coastal villages would tell you that it's suicide to take a ship of that size out into a storm like this one and yet here it was in the darkness. Other than the waves mercilessly smashing into the side of the boat no movement could be seen on deck. Nothing could be seen in the pitch blackness of the cabin. A muffled sound came out of the dark room, **"F.i. St.l.****: Fi..b.ll J..su**," followed by a blast of light and heat. The cabin door flung open and flames bellowed out and a black haired figure stumbled out.

The black haired person cautiously peered into the flaming cabin. "**Earth Style: Earthen Missile Jutsu!**" Rocks whistled as they flew past the black haired figure who was doing all he could to avoid being hit. He reeled back as one of the rocks hit him square on the forehead causing him to curse as blood dribbled into his eyes. The boat lurched sideways throwing the black haired person off balance and spinning him around. Shuriken flew out of the cabin door followed by a Kirigakure ninja. Most of the shuriken only grazed the black haired figure however one caught him in the back of the skull causing him to gasp before falling over into the crashing waves below.

The mist ninja glanced over the railings looking for the fallen ninja he had hopefully dispatched, but it seemed that the waves had decided to take the body for itself. Several minutes passed by before the Ninja was satisfied with his work and set about extinguishing the flames on his boat, it would be a long trip back to Kirigakure which was the safest place to get repairs done. "Damn it, Mizukage isn't going to be happy about this little failure…" As he cleaned up what he could he considered becoming a missing-nin rather than face the Mizukage, either way it wasn't going to be pretty for him, it wasn't called the "Village of the Bloody Mist" for nothing and failures came with harsh punishments.

Freezing cold greeted the black haired ninja as he plunged into the dark waters along the Land of Lightning's coastline. The moment connected with the water he could feel the shuriken in his skull snap as the cheap quality metal gave way. Panic seized him as he tried to gasp for air and instead sucked in cold water. This in turn caused him to cough and draw in more water. Each passing second brought more cold, darkness and fear. His mind began relying on instinct; he let out a small cough of air and followed the bubbles to the surface. When he broke through he began coughing up the water he had just inhaled. He began spinning around trying to get an idea of where he was, things were fuzzy and he couldn't think. He felt colder than he had ever felt in his life, his life's blood quickly draining into the ocean. His detached himself and let instinct take over. He quickly found some drift wood and clung for it for dear life. He suddenly felt warm, the darkness was beckoning to him, tempting him to let go and be at peace. He knew though, somehow through the fear, panic, and pain that he had to hang on. What surprised him was that he no longer could remember why but he knew he had to, why could come later. It would be a long, long night for the young black haired ninja, but it was only the beginning of his nightmares.

An older man cast a fishing line into the ocean. He had been traveling to collect special herbs he used to treat the people of his village. He had been a medic-nin of Kumogakure in his younger days but had long since retired and moved to a small coastal village. Unfortunately, he was the only doctor in the village and it was a day's trip to the nearest big town. He had come to care for the villagers a little bit and as such he would leave the village to gather important medicines that couldn't be grown or bought. His line began bobbing up and down, "Yes! Tsuki isn't going to be eating salted meat tonight! It's gotta be huge! I'll probably be able to eat for days off this one catch!" The ex-medic reeled in with all his might, and was greatly surprised when he saw a face in the water.

"What the…? Oh my god! Young man? Can you hear me?!" The black haired youth coughed weakly and prompted the doctor to jump in. The doctor quickly pulled the youth into his boat and began performing a diagnosis jutsu. "Oh god." He quickly flipped through several hand signs. A soft green slow surrounded his hands as he began pumping chakra into the boy. 'It's a long shot but maybe…' thought the doctor. Both fortunately and unfortunately the doctor would have tried regardless of how much of a chance he thought a patient had. It had been ingrained into his personality by his sensei back when he had first decided to become a medic-nin. The youth's breathing steadied along with his heart rate. Acting as quickly as he could the medic stripped the boy and dragged him into the cabin and dumped every blanket he had on board and as many clothes as he could around the youth. Once satisfied that the boy was going to be as warm as he could, the doctor sat down at a table and began writing down what had happened, this was an unusual event and needed recording. 'It's up to you now young man.' He thought as he began writing.


	2. Awakening

**Review Replies**

**Sasuke9031-**I'll have to watch the Bourne series, haven't had the chance. As for Naruto being Jason Bourne, eh not so much. He's still going to be Naruto (as best as I can anyway) however things will be a bit different for him since he won't have his memory. The book/movies will only be a loose guideline. Thanks for being the first to Review!

**Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet-** Thanks for the review, Read on to see if your right about the black haired youth. You never know maybe it is Sasuke, but it I told you that it'd ruin the story wouldn't it?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto or The Bourne Identity.

Chapter 1: Awakening

_Chiri Vill__age, Coast of the Land of Lightning:_

Three days after finding the black haired youth the doctor, Tsuki Iyaku, finally arrived at his home in Chiri Village. Wasting no time he carried his patient into his clinic/home and placed him into bed. The young man was astounding, nearly all the wounds had healed by the next morning and the fever resided the day after. He immediately had to take the boy into surgery upon his arrival. The skull had nearly refused where a shuriken had hit him and broken off.

The procedure was very delicate and completely drained him of most of his chakra. Brain surgeries weren't simple processes, even years after the legendary ninja, Tsunade, had introduced them. The fatality rate was over 60 and was only ever used as a last resort. Fortunately, the procedure had gone smoothly and was a success. To the old doctor's surprise, when he went to change the boy's bandages, the wound had completely healed and the hair lost during the procedure had grown back…blond. Not wanting to alarm anyone, especially the patient at this point, he applied a touch of chakra to the spot and changed it back to the shade it was before the injury.

Two days after the surgery, the young man sat up in bed and looked around with unseeing eyes. Tsuki made several attempts to get the boy's attention but his efforts were in vain. However when he brought food he was able to feed himself without assistance or acknowledging the doctor's presence. After he finished eating he began muttering to himself and his hands formed random series of hand signs without molding any chakra. The doctor wrote down the boy's intelligible words and anything else he could determine about the boy's condition. In his sleep he would toss and turn, scream, and sweat. At one point he began talking softly then another more menacing, darker, evil voice escaped the boy's throat startling the doctor. "What…is this boy?" Tsuki muttered to himself as he poured over his notes.

_Location unknown:_

A black haired youth awoke in a dank sewer. His limb felt heavy as he pushed himself up against the wall. He felt…like there was a haze over his mind, he couldn't see straight. He shook his head and looked around. The sewer floor was covered in a pool of water ankle deep and water constantly dripped from the roof. He glanced around and took in the sheer enormity of the room. Where ever he was it was huge, he couldn't even see the top of the room. His gaze finally settled on the end of the room. Huge iron bars formed a cage of some sort that on only being held closed by a piece of paper with a seal on it.

"Where am I…Who am I?" he gasped. He struggled to recall even the most basic information. Friends, family, where he lived, what he did for a living, anger burned hot in his chest when he realized he couldn't recall anything. He slammed a fist against the wall that was supporting his body. Something began moving around in the cage and startled the young man. Curiosity got the best of him and he approached the cage. The bars were huge and spaced so far apart that six full grown men could walk shoulder to shoulder and not touch the bars. He peered inside; trying to see what was being held back by the massive cage. A giant eye opened and massive claws shot out trying to impale the boy. Fortunately he was able to avoid the attack despite his lethargy.

_"RAWR!!!"_ roared a giant beast behind the bars. The youth stumbled backwards. 

'What…what is that thing!?'

The beast roared in laughter. _"**That's a good one boy…Who am I…hahahaha! I've only been living in you for the past 19 years and occasionally paying 'rent'.**"_

The youth's eyes shot open. 'It can read my mind!'

_"**Well we are in the landscape that is your mind…however dank and empty it might be. Wait a minute…**"_ The beast peered closely at the youth, its eyes seeming to pierce his very soul.

"Who am I?! Who are you? Tell me, please!" the youth begged. The beast suddenly roared with laughter.

_"**Oh hahaha, this is rich! How the mighty have fallen, you've lost your memory haven't you! Must have been that shuriken to the back of the head! Hahahaha!!! Well if you must know, I am the Nine-Tailed Fox, most powerful of the "Tailed Beasts"! As for who you are well…I think it'd be more fun if you discovered it on your own!**"_

The youth felt his stomach sink as the fox receded back in its cage. Suddenly he remembered something…the Nine-tailed fox…nearly destroyed the Village of Konohagakure nearly 2 decades ago. Why was that important? And if what the beast said is true, then how did the beast get from Konoha to being inside him?

_"**Be gone! Your thoughts are starting to annoy me!**"_ Chakra began leaking under the cage and picked up the youth and rushed him out of the room into random hallways. He saw light at the end of a hallway that the chakra was pushing him towards.

"AHHHHHHHHHH…"

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"AHHHHHHH!!!!" The youth suddenly sat up.

"Welcome back, young man. You've been out for quite awhile." The youth glanced at the speaker; he was a fairly old man, dressed in scrubs and with grey-going-white hair on his head. The room, he noticed, was uncomfortably white like a hospital.

'Why do I dislike hospitals?' he thought. "Who are you? Or better yet who am I?" The man grimaced.

"I am Tsuki Iyaku, a doctor and former Medic-nin of Kumogakure. As for who you are, I'm sorry but I don't know. But we'll worry about that later, I'm sure you're pretty hungry."

The boy's stomach rumbled loudly. "Eheh, yeah, do you have any…ramen, Gramps?" The doctor smiled.

"I'm sure we can find you something."

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"Boy, you sure can eat," said the doctor. The youth sat back in his chair with an over inflated stomach.

"Thanks gramps that was great!" 13 empty ramen packages lay scattered in the doctor's kitchen.

"I hope you enjoyed it, it's the last time I will let you eat ramen for awhile, I need to feed you properly so you can heal faster." The youth groaned.

"But Gramps, ramen is soooo good!"

Tsuki shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it is necessary. I hate to rush right into things but, can you remember anything."

The youth breathed in suddenly, "Not much, I remember a storm, something about the Nine-Tailed fox attacking Konohagakure, and that's it."

The doctor sighed, "Well I couldn't expect this to be very easy, though I'm surprised you're taking this so well. You have no memory, you're in a clinic in what's probably an unknown country. Most would probably be panicking right now."

The youth smiled, unknown to the good doctor, his words had hit close to home. Panic was welling up inside as well as fear, sadness, and a little bit of anger. What had he lost? Who were his friends and family? Did he have a wife? Or maybe a Girlfriend? A child? The youth shook his head and forced a smile. He didn't know why he did it but it seemed natural to hide his negative emotions.

"Well I can't keep calling you boy, is there a name you want to take for now?"

The boy began thinking hard, "Can't think of a single name that would fit me." He said with a wild grin.

"Hmmm…what about…Rosuto Nagori?" The doctor suggested.

The youth looked at him blankly. "Ha ha, very funny."

The doctor laughed. "Sorry but it sorta rolls off the tongue. And it's better than nothing." Rosuto sighed.

"Fine, for now anyway." The doctor smiled,

"Well let's see if we can't provoke anything from your memories."

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Author's Notes

Well this turned out to be a slow chapter, ah well what can ya do, hopefully it will be more exciting as things go on. If you didn't know, Rosuto Nagori roughly translates to Lost memory so now you don't have to go look it up. Much thanks to my reviewers, I really appreciate that people are reading this story. See ya next time!


	3. Kakashi's Suspicions

**Review Replies:**

**Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet:** Alright! Took your advice and added a little line for the time skip. **Mr. Nine-tail****s:** Well what can you do?

Thanks for the reviews!

**Update: **Hey everyone! I would like to let you all know that this chapter had been revised a bit. Special thanks to Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet for reviewing my work and offering her suggestions.

**Demonkid:** Nothings set in stone. I am trying to stick somewhat near to the real story line and fact is Naruto does have feelings for Sakura. Sakura seems likely to have feelings for Naruto. And we all know Hinata has feelings for Naruto. I'm actually a fan of just about any non-yaoi pairings you could think of. NaruSaku, NaruHina, NaruTem, NaruIno, NaruRin (the sound Nin one). So as long as Naruto is happy, I'm happy. Anyway I'll figure the pairings out eventually.

**Mangalover248**: Thanks for the review! May the intrigue continue!

**Quathis:** I'm glad I caught your interest.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Naruto or The Bourne Identity, a shame really but oh well.

Chapter 2: Kakashi's suspicions

_Konohagakure: Outside the Hokage Tower_

Kakashi Hatake sighed in defeat as he exited the overhauled Hokage's Tower into the crisp autumn afternoon. Years of abuse following Lady Tsunade's appointment as 5th Hokage had destroyed the old tower beyond safe and practical use. At the prompting of the senior Jonin council, the Hokage Tower was demolished and rebuilt to better withstand the brutal punishment dealt out by the Fifth's terrible fists.

The sun was shining, kids were playing in the streets and yet… without the obnoxious yelling of a certain blonde haired Chunin things seemed lifeless to the Jonin. There were a few, though, in the village who had never been happier now that the "Nine-tailed brat' had left. Kakashi ran his hair through his spiky hair and remembered one of the few times he'd lost his cool when someone spoke ill of his former pupil, they still haven't left the hospital. He on the other hand, was assigned guard duty for his well intentioned but poor handling of the situation.

He hadn't changed too much, by ninja standards anyway. His hair had a touch of white mingling with its naturally silver color. His face was still smooth without wrinkles despite his stressful job. If one looked in his eye, however, you could see that he had aged since his student's departure.

Kakashi reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a copy of the Make-Out paradise series. The book was bright orange with a red spiral on the back. Rumors had it that Naruto himself had ghostwritten this volume for Jiraiya just to prove that he could write a 'stupid pervert book' as well as the legendary Sannin. Much to Jiraiya's surprise it was a smash hit and stayed on the best sellers list far longer than any of his own books. That had irked Jiraiya when Tsunade pointed out that maybe it was because he could only write on the level of a child, but the extra zeros in his checkbook made up for it.

He had just completed his latest A-ranked mission and, as he did after every mission for the last 6 months, had taken the opportunity to get any information he could about his former pupil. That fateful day 6 months ago he had walked out of the village to parts unknown. Only Sakura Haruno had seen him depart and she had been knocked out and left with the cryptic word "Thank you" as he departed. She didn't wake up until two of the Hokage's assistants had found her lying on a bench the next morning. She was heartbroken when she finally recalled the events of that night. She asked to be part of the team that was going after he departed comrade and was denied. That night, Naruto Uzumaki had left from the village is the exact same way has his other former pupil, Sasuke Uchiha, had.

The team that had been dispatched to track Naruto down, however, was left in far better condition than Sasuke and the Sound Four had left the previous team. Naruto had been stopped several miles out of town by a team consisting of Shikamaru Nara, Neji Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Choji Akamichi, and Rock Lee. According to the reports delivered by the team, Naruto had stopped, looked at them with tears in his eyes and said, "I'm sorry…" 5 blurs of orange dropped down from the trees and delivered swift chops to the back of the team member's necks. As they fell unconscious, six Naruto's stood before them before 5 of them vanished in puffs of smoke. Neji was particularly distraught as he had pushed hard to develop his Byakugan beyond what any Hyuga had ever managed and Naruto had still defeated it.

Naruto's departure had hit everyone hard however Sakura took his departure the hardest. Around 4 years after Sasuke departed she decided to forget him and move on. She had dated several boys but none could satisfy her, well except a formerly orange Ninja. During that third year Lady Tsunade had promoted him to Chunin and forbid him to wear orange anymore. To say the least he vehemently protested. The matter ended when she passed a law forbidding Naruto to own, borrow, find, use, or otherwise obtain any orange clothing and further forbidding any ninja from wearing orange while on duty. That day Naruto ended up in the hospital for a week when he brought his complains before the Hokage.

--

"Granny Tsunade! What the hell is going on?! The Anbu guys were at my home burning all my clothing!"

Tsunade put on the most innocent face she could and held out a piece of paper. "I'm sorry Naruto, but the Ninja council passed this law yesterday evening." Naruto grabbed the document out of her hands and began reading.

"Granny Tsunade! This document was written and signed by YOU!" She took the paper from him with a surprised look on her face.

"Oh…Well what do you know? It seems I was the one who passed it after all." Her mouth formed an evil grin.

"Damn it! It said that all orange clothing I own is to be burned on sight! What were you thinking you Old Ha…?!" Naruto never finished his sentence. A well placed, and chakra-enhanced punch sent him flying through the roof and towards Konoha Hospital. He landed face first on the steps of the building and was immediately placed into the IC unit.

Tsunade grinned as she took a look at her handy work. Naruto was just about a mummy in every way imaginable. She derived a small amount of sick pleasure from not having to hold back when she hit Naruto as she did with less…invincible ninja, like Kotetsu or Kakashi. Even after bringing Naruto's half dead body back from the battle at the Valley of the End she had to hold back from pummeling the somewhat innocent Kakashi. It was irrational but she'd be damned before she let Naruto die before achieving his dream of being Hokage. That didn't mean she'd spare him from taking B or A-ranked missions, in fact she doubted she could stop him even if she wanted to.

--

"W-why G-granny, W-why…" he muttered pitifully.

"That'll teach you to argue with me, brat!" She said as she scowled. Naruto let out a piteously moan and her expression softened. She couldn't help it; she had grown to care for the brat like a mother or an overly protective aunt. She bent down and placed a kiss on his forehead, "Tell you what brat, hurry up and get better and I'll hook you up with an A-ranked mission." As expected he tried to jump out of his bed and hug her but ended hurting himself. 'That'll put him out for the rest of the week.' "Later brat!" As she left a pissed off Sakura burst into the room.

"NA… RU… TO!! Look at you, damn it! Now I have to spend the rest of the week taking care of you!" There was a loud crash and Tsunade estimated the time in the hospital just went up another week. "Not to mention Lady Tsunade assigned a D-ranked mission to me and Ino-pig to get you new clothes when you get out!"

"GRANNY TSUNADE!!"

Tsunade laughed as she picked up the pace. She might be pissed off now, but her apprentice would appreciate the time she would get to spend with Naruto and Ino, especially Naruto. Tsunade didn't get to be Hokage by being unobservant, and she certainly observed the slight blush that always appeared on her face when they talked about Naruto. The same blush that would've appeared a few years ago when she talked about Sasuke. Of course Sakura wouldn't be telling him anything anytime soon, but she was often more than ok with accepting a few of the dates he asked her on.

--

Kakashi walked into the Ichiraku ramen shop. The shop had received an overhaul just as the Hokage tower did. A hint of paint-smell could still be picked up over the simmering ramen. New flaps hung from the roof of the stand blocking a small amount of cold and proclaiming the name of Ichiraku.

Ever since Naruto had left he had eaten a bowl of Naruto's favorite ramen at least once a week. He had found friendship in the owner Teuchi, who had several wrinkles and gray hair now, and his daughter Ayame, who had grown into quiet the beautiful woman over the years. They would often reminisce about the old days when Naruto was a mere Genin just starting to come into his own as a ninja…until Kakashi had to pull down his masks so he could eat, then Teuchi would have to restrain Ayame from tackling Kakashi. Fortunately he was a master of speed eating and was done in a matter of seconds. Kakashi, however, wasn't in the mood to talk tonight. He sat thinking about the events surrounding Naruto's departure as he found himself doing, sometimes more often than he did about Obito's death.

Kakashi remembered sitting down with Sakura a few days after that night. She told him all that happened. It had played out just like with Sasuke. She had confessed that she had started liking him and the rest well… It was no small wonder that she had been so depressed. Naruto had often strived to emulate some of the things Sasuke did. He created the Naruto Uzumaki Barrage shortly after Sasuke's own Lion's Barrage, he learned several fire style jutsu despite his wind affinity, he tried to get Kakashi to teach him Chidori after Operation: Destroy Konoha, and he had begun practicing in secret with a standard Anbu issue sword after they had 'reunited' with Sasuke after his two-and-a-half year training trip with Jiraiya.

Kakashi, however, wasn't convinced. He prided himself (secretly of course) on being able to read people even without the Sharingan, and something definitely wasn't right when he spoke with Tsunade. He could tell there was something she would desperately like to tell him but couldn't or wouldn't.

The way he had left Konoha, despite his promise to bring Sasuke back, his dream to be Hokage, and his obvious love of Sakura, yet he left it all, abandoned his morals to go be a missing-nin with no reasons whatsoever. Then there was the way he practiced with an Anbu standard issue sword, a one sword fits all, rather than getting one custom fit to him. It definitely wasn't price because Anbu issue swords were specially forged to resist chakra based damage and they were worth a pretty ryo to non-Anbu.

There were other things but he couldn't bring his concerns to the Hokage, not any more anyway, the last time he did he got a one way ticket to the Konoha Hospital courtesy of the lady Hokage herself. She now was holding his Make-Out Paradise series hostage, well except for the copy he'd managed to smuggle out.

Of all the lessons that Kakashi had tried to impress upon his students Sasuke had broken the most important one twice. 'Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.' Kakashi had said. So what did that make Sasuke? He had left Konoha and went AWOL thus breaking the rules and then, at the same time, he abandoned his comrades to gain power with Orochimaru. The only thing that Sasuke going for him was a flimsy excuse in his favor for avenging his family. Naruto didn't even have that.

Unless his suspicions were correct, he had failed two of the only three students he'd ever had. Unfortunately he couldn't tell his thoughts to anyone, Lady Tsunade had forbidden him and he wasn't going to be accused and thrown in prison for treason. He couldn't help anyone from there. It seemed that he would be on his own and so began gather what information he could during missions. He only hoped he could return Naruto soon…

**--Author's Notes --**

Been pretty busy these last couple weeks with school and work and such so it could be another week or 2 till the next chapter is written. Hopefully not too long though. Anyway keep on the lookout and recommend me to your friends if you're enjoying it!


	4. Of Memories and XRays

**Author's notes**

SURPRISE! Chapter three is now out! I know I said 2 weeks but aren't you happier that one came out early? Anyway I appreciate the reviews everyone. Lets me know you guys are interested in the story. Anyway without further adieu Chapter 3 of The Uzumaki Identity!

--

Chapter 3: Of Memories and X-rays

"Ok Rosuto. Stand still. I need to take a full-body X-Ray so I can see the extent of the physical damage." Tsuki said as Rosuto began tapping his foot rapidly on the floor.

"Aw, come on Gramps! I feel fine!" Rosuto said irritated.

"Often times the worst damage goes unfelt, so sit down you fool!" Tsuki growled. "If you don't stop fidgeting I'm going to tie you up! I may not look like much now but I was once an Kumogakuran Medic-nin!" Rosuto drew a deep breath.

"Sorry Tsuki-sensei. Your place feels too much like a hospital and I get the feeling I didn't like them in my past life." Rosuto stilled his body with a small effort, something he must have done thousands of times for reasons unknown to him. Tsuki held three fingers up.

"Ready? Three..." He dropped a finger. "Two…" Another finger dropped. "One…" The final finger fell and Tsuki pushed a button on the side of the huge machine in the room.

As the only doctor in the coastal village, Tsuki strived to provide the best medical service he could. As such a few years ago he had purchased a rather large X-ray machine from an Kumogakure hospital at a bargain price. They were updating the hospital and were trying to get rid of it. He was now able to fix broken bones more accurately than before, even with his Diagnosis Jutsu. The only down side was that it was bulky.

It was a rather new and innovative technology developed by the Land of Snow at great expense. When Doto Kazahana preformed his coup d' grace and took over the Land of Snow, he sold off some of the "useless" technology that Soutetsu Kazahana, his brother, had invested in. Years later, when some unnamed ninja from Konohagakure forcibly removed Doto from power, Princess Koyuki Kazahana ascended the throne and continued some of her father's work. She sold the results to various hospitals in order to raise funds for the country. The end result was the Kumogakuran hospital upgrading and getting rid of the outdated machinery.

_BUZZ!!_ "Alright, we're done Rosuto." Tsuki began pushing buttons on the control panel. "It'll be awhile before the X-rays come out…" Tsuki pulled a small green frog-shaped wallet out of his desk. "Here's a little bit of cash, why don't you go explore the village a bit, but please, please don't get into any trouble." Tsuki tossed the wallet to Rosuto. The second Rosuto caught the wallet it hit him…

A memory hit Rosuto full force. _'I'm going to be in charge of your wallet. That is all you're allowed to spend today._' _Said a White-haired man as he passed a blond-haired boy some money. _

_'What! Just 300 ryo?!" exclaimed the blond__e. _

_'Don't you know about the three __shinobi__ prohibitions? Shinobi must limit themselves on Drink, Pretty girls, and Money…'_

Another memory followed that held no less force but likely occurred shortly after the first. _'Gya-ha-ha-ha! Gotta love em!' The blonde haired boy walked into __a 'special' bar to find his sensei plastered, surrounded by women, and worst of all his poor froggy wallet had been put in a state of starvation! _

_'What did you say about Shinobi Prohibitions, Pervy Sage?!'_

A final memory struck him. This time the blond-haired kid was a couple years older. '_Pleeeeese Sa..., Go on a date with me?' A pink-haired goddess shot an annoyed look in his direction. _

_'Fine, but you're paying for it.' The boy pulled out __a frog shaped wallet. _

_'Err, ..ku.. Do you think you could pay for half?' Her fist smashed into his face and he skidded at least thirty feet. _

_'__God, you're such an idiot! I'll just eat elsewhere.' A massive bruise formed over his eye. _

_'...ra… I'm so..rry.' He said before collapsing._

Rosuto began breathing heavily and sunk to his knees, shaking. "Rosuto? Rosuto?! Are you ok? Hey!" Rosuto slowly looked at Tsuki.

"I…I remembered something." A grin spread over his face. "So…beautiful…" Tsuki bonked him on the head.

"Hey! Focus. What did you remember?" Rosuto explained down to the last detail each part of his memories. "Shinobi, huh? Were you a ninja then? Or was your teacher a Ninja who had left the business? Maybe you wanted to be a ninja? Or did you look up to the 'honorable shinobi' and their code of honor?" Tsuki scratched his chin. "There are too many ifs. If you're up to it go ahead and go explore the town, it may help you feel better. Otherwise go lay down."

"Heh, I'm fine. I'll see you later Gramps!"

"I'm not your grandpa!!" He yelled as Rosuto left laughing. 'Hmm. Interesting. It seems things can be triggered by object association. I'll have to pursue this later.' Tsuki turned back to the control panel and resumed his work.

--

Rosuto had the same thoughts as Tsuki. As he stepped outside into the cloudy day his mind kicked it into high gear. It seemed he was rather intelligent, but he instinctively acted goofy and hid parts of his personality. 'Object association…why do I know about that though?' He thought.

_Once in a great while you may have to use the Amnesia Jutsu. It gives you a chance to claim information from a subject without their loyalties getting in the way. However it is difficult to provoke said information, if it is even there. One way is through Object association… _Rosuto's eyes widened. The voice was so familiar, a teacher perhaps… But when would he use an…'Amnesia Jutsu'? Was he a ninja interrogator? Or perhaps a skilled psychiatrist? And could he have lost his memory performing said jutsu? He shook his head and cleared his thoughts. He could talk to Tsuki-sensei about it later. "Geez, looks like it's going to rain soon… oh well I'm pretty sure I won't melt." Rosuto said to no one in particular.

--

Rosuto had spent nearly three hours exploring the village. He had spent a little time at the beach, listening to the waves before going to the marketplace. He had bought a froggy wallet in a shade of pink resembling the color of the girl from his memory's hair. He had also picked up a red and white paper fan. He didn't know why he had such a strange attraction to the fan. It had actually filled him with sadness when he saw it but bought it anyway. He decided then that he had spent enough of the good doctor's money though he had only spent about 80 ryo. Something cool suddenly touched his face. Rosuto glanced up. A big drop of water slashed on his forehead. "Ah geez, looks like I was right."

Rosuto picked up the pace and headed for the good doctor's home. "Hurry up! It's starting to rain!" A man called up to a window of a house. Thirty feet in the air a Piano was suspended by a single pulley.

"We're trying boss!" A voice called out. Rosuto began to turn a bit so he could go around the work sight.

"Riku! Come in it's about to rain!" A woman called out. A little girl wearing a sky blue kimono ran past Rosuto carrying a ball.

"Coming mommy! Oops!!" She cried as she tripped over a rock. Her ball rolled under the piano, but the movers didn't notice it. Rosuto didn't pay much mind but looked up at the piano. The girl got up and ran after her ball laughing. Rosuto's eyes bulged as the rope holding the piano up snapped.

"Look out!" Yelled the boss of the movers. Rosuto leapt into action. He moved his hands subconsciously.

"**Earth Style: Earthen Clone Jutsu! Substitution!**" The piano hit the ground and a cloud of smoke rose up covering the area.

"RIKU!!" Cried a frantic woman. She rushed forward as the dust began to settle.

"Waaah! Mommy!" Cried the little girl. Rosuto protectively held the girl twenty feet from the dust rising from the impact area. As the dust cleared several stone Rosuto's held the piano inches from the ground. They slowly set it down before crumbling away. The girl ran from Rosuto into the mother's arms and began bawling.

"Oh my dear Riku, how could you do that? Don't ever scare me like that again!" After the shock passed she looked around for her black-haired savior. "Where…did he go?" The movers ran over to the women to see if she was ok.

"Miss!..."

Rosuto quickly fled the scene. His instincts demanded it. He did not want to draw attention at this point. He quickly made his way through the winding streets of the village back to the doctor's clinic.

--

Tsuki waited patiently for the X-ray to develop but still he was anxious. He wanted to see the extent of the damage himself. Three hours after Rosuto left the print finally came out. He put it up to a light and began examining it. Tsuki gasped and his eyes widened. The picture that the X-ray painted was horrifying. He had never seen anything so terrible, so truly evil in his life. He couldn't believe his eyes. Tsuki doubled over and puked. "Monste…" Tsuki turned his head as he heard the front door slam open before throwing up again.

"Tsuki-sensei, I'm back!" Rosuto called out as he entered the house/clinic. Rosuto made his way to the X-ray room and found Tsuki-sensei puking his guts out. "Tsuki-sensei! Are you alright!" Rosuto said as he put his arm around the older man. The man slowly and shakily turned his head towards him. In his eyes Rosuto could see great fear, anger, and sadness. "What's wrong?" Tsuki spun quickly and hugged the boy.

"You poor, poor boy…" He whispered.

--Author's Notes Continued!--

And there you have it! Chapter 3! What did Tsuki-sensei see in the X-ray? What was so horrible? What's going to happen to our hero next? Who knows? I haven't written that chapter yet. As a side note, 10 ryo roughly equals 1 American dollar which is roughly 100 yen. Just so you know. Also, after a tip from a reader, I will no longer answer reviews before the chapter. Said I might get in trouble or something. Later!


	5. Pursuit

**Author's Notes:**

Wow! I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this! Again special thanks again to Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, Her time and effort are allowing me to bring better quality to this story, though I did write the chapter well enough that I seem to have fooled even her! Now at this point you may want to go reread the last chapter and see if you can catch what I'm talking about, because I'm about to reveal some stuff! Now to answer some questions.

I have gotten questions about the Earth Clone Jutsu that Rosuto/Naruto used. The truth behind this is that Naruto has completely lost his memory. That includes all his techniques. He remembers things randomly according to objects, situations, etc. Now at this point Naruto roughly 19 and it is probably safe to assume he will have learned many techniques on his path to becoming Hokage. When the piano began to fall, he subconsciously remembered the **Earth Clone Jutsu**(my own variant, Orochimaru apparently uses this jutsu but the clones are made of mud rather than earth) and the **Substitution Jutsu**.

There are two reasons he used Earth Clones rather that his Famous Shadow Clones: 1) It would have been way too easy to see it coming. 2) Shadow clones aren't exactly known for their durability. Earth clones, Like Gaara's Sand Clones I imagine, would be far more durable and so when the piano hit them they could break its fall rather than be hit, go poof, then the piano be smashed anyway. Now I'm not saying the piano was completely undamaged, but who knows? Naruto took off too soon to find out.

Next, the doctor puking. I'm not going to tell you what he saw yet, but did I ever say he saw the Nine Tailed Fox? I won't say either way because then you might not read the story. Of course, now that I said that everyone's going to think, 'oh so it's not the Nine Tailed Fox he saw' just because I brought up the point that I never actually said it last chapter. Maybe I'll make it the Nine Tailed Fox just to spite you!

Btw for added effect play this song during the first part of the story

www. newgrounds. com/ audio/ listen/ 48203 (remove the spaces)

I've wasted enough time, On to the Story!

--

Chapter 4: Pursuit

_"You poor, poor boy…"_

"Rosuto…let's sit down. We need to talk." Said the good doctor.

"Why, Tsuki-sensei? What's up?" exclaimed a worried Rosuto. Not moments ago Rosuto had found the kind doctor heaving his guts all over the floor and still he wouldn't tell him why. Though, by the serious look on his face, he wasn't going to like the answer. Tsuki began changing out black sheets on some sort of device Rosuto couldn't immediately recognize.

"Get a chair and sit over here, by the light screen." Tsuki commanded. Rosuto did as he was told. He had learned, during his weeks with Tsuki-sensei, the times when absolute seriousness was required. This was one of those times. Tsuki reached over the front of the screen where dark sheets were hung up. He flicked a switch and on came a light behind the black sheets, illuminating them. "Rosuto, I want you to take a close look and tell me what you see here." The doctor said, still pale but recovering quickly. Rosuto looked closely at the X-ray photo.

"Um…Looks like an X-ray of a skeleton." The pure white of the bones shone clearly in contrast to the black outline. Rosuto looked at the X-ray that could very well be his and tried to look for any signs of a problem.

"That's right. This is an X-ray of a normal skeleton with nothing wrong. Pristine, no fractures, no sprain, no disease," Tsuki reached over and flicked the light off and changed the X-rays. "Now, look at this one and tell me what you see." The doctor flipped the light on again. Rosuto looked at the picture, but quickly discerned the problem.

"It's obvious Doc, the second one has a major break." Rosuto said, his mood lightening. Perhaps Tsuki-sensei was just feeling a bit ill earlier, after all this seemed like a simple game, perhaps to see if he was a medi-nin himself. Tsuki nodded.

"Good." Once again he flicked the light on. It took longer this time but he recognized the problem.

"There are grey lines along where the fracture was in the last X-ray." The doctor nodded approvingly but still looked grim.

"That's exactly it. The third X-ray shows what happens a year after the break heals. X-rays pick up old damage and since the bone is thicker there it shows up grayish rather than white." The doctor flicked the light off and changed the pictures. "Now, look at this last set of pictures." He flicked the switch but only dim light came through.

"Um, Tsuki-sensei, I think your light-thing is broken." Rosuto said, his face scrunching up in confusion. The doctor smiled grimly.

"No. It isn't." Rosuto looked again.

"Well if it isn't then this X-ray shows a person who's been hit by a train…several times." The doctor shook his head.

"Rosuto, this X-ray…is yours." Rosuto's eye's bulged. The damage shown was extensive. There were signs of fractures over every inch of his bones. "Rosuto, you have no right to still be living. The kind of damage you've sustained is beyond anything any person should have been able to survive. Even by ninja standards. Even if you managed to survive the repeated breaking, the mental scars of having broken bones healed seconds after they were broken then re-broken would have torn you apart long before you got here." Rosuto's face dropped. "The worst of it..." The doctor swallowed hard. "There is evidence that the worst damage was caused as early as you being one month old." The doctor closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I haven't even shown you the worst…" The doctor once again changed the X-rays. Rosuto glanced at the label.

_Right Rib Cage_

The doctor flicked on the light. Rosuto gasped. A fist shaped hole was nearly blacked out over the right lung. "Boy, I don't know what kind of hell you've been through, but you must have one hell of a Kekkei Genkai to survive a total obliteration of the right lung… and to have it grow back.

"What do you mean Tsuki-sensei?" Rosuto asked astounded.

"Take off your shirt." Rosuto obeyed his orders. He quickly discarded his shirt. He glanced down and squinted his eyes. It was barely noticeable but sure enough the skin around his rib cage was just a slight shade lighter than the rest of his skin. Rosuto paled…

_Cheep-cheep-cheep-cheep-cheep._

"Hey, Tsuki sensei? Do you hear anything?" The doctor looked at him quizzically.

_Che__ep-cheep-cheep-cheep-cheep!_

Rosuto shot to his feet and glanced around. "He's here!" The doctor rose from his chair alarmed.

"Who, Rosuto, Who's here?"

_Cheep-cheep-cheep-cheep-cheep! __Chidori! One-Thousand Birds!_

"I have to stop him! I have to save him!" Rosuto began panicking.

Rosuto collapsed without warning. "Rosuto! Rosuto!!"

_Two forms faced off against each other. One with massive hand-shaped wings sprouting from his back. The other wrapped in orange chakra creating a vaguely fox shaped outline. They both began building up their chakra. "Chidori!" Yelled the winged one._

_"Rasengan!" Yelled his counterpart. They leapt into the air, with the sounds of a thousand birds chirping. Their attacks collided throwing off massive amounts of energy, permanently altering the landscape of the valley they were in. The fox-like one shifted his attack and clawed a line against the other's headband. The winged one thrust his hand into the lung of the fox. The fox felt an explosion of pain as muscle and bone were severed from the attack. Then blackness…_

"Ro..to! Wa.e..p R..uto! Rosuto!"

Rosuto shot up into a defensive position. Blinking several times he realized where he was and collapsed back to the floor. "Rosuto, what happened?" Tsuki asked.

"The wound on my chest…I remember…" he muttered, dazed.

"You have to focus, I need more than that if I'm to help you." The doctor pressed.

"I can only remember clips and pieces. I felt so much rage at…my brother who wasn't really my brother. We fought and he pierced me with…" Rosuto stopped, his instincts screaming not to name the technique. "Some lightning technique that pierced my lung." The doctor nodded. "Then I used some kind of technique of my own…I can't remember the rage was taking over my mind but I think I may have scratched his forehead protector but from what village I can't remember…" The doctor sighed.

"Well it is progress at least, we know for sure that you're a ninja, you wouldn't have used offensive techniques if you were a normal person. Your brother who's not your brother, perhaps a close friend who you valued? Anyway get some rest, I have some business to take care of I'll be back tomorrow." Rosuto nodded and shambled off to his room. "I hope my plan works…" the doctor muttered to himself.

* * *

_Konohagakure: Hokage's tower_

Lady Tsunade snoozed comfortably in her newly fitted Hokage robes. Though, in line with her special jutsu that made her appear far younger than she was, it had been cut to be far more interesting than the Third's robes had been. An empty bottle sat next to her head and she lay in a puddle of her own drool. Even now she still indulged in sleep and sake whenever she could so she could slack off on paper work. The wind picked up and a flurry of leaves swirled out of nowhere revealing a figure that wasn't in the room seconds before.

"Lady Tsunade!" said a man dressed in Anbu armor. Tsunade started awake as the Anbu appeared in the room.

"Wha ish it" she slurred as drool ran down her face. The Anbu held out a report.

"The latest report on Operation: Spiral, ma'am." The Anbu answered. Tsunade sobered up and wiped the drool from her lips.

"Thank you captain, please have a seat." The Anbu nodded and took a chair.

"As you are now reading, we have a major problem. Fox hasn't reported in for over three months. The senior council has jumped to the conclusion that he has decided to betray the village." The Anbu said behind his mask as Tsunade read the report. Tsunade put down the report and looked at the masked soldier. She formed a hand seal and the pressure in the air caused their ears to pop.

"There, I put up a genjutsu. Would you please get rid of the god-forsaken mask? I hate not being able to see people's face when I talk to them." Tsunade said irritably.

"As you wish, Lady Hokage." The Anbu Captain removed his bird mask to reveal pupil less lavender eyes.

"Ah, much better Captain Neji." She said with a sigh of relief as the Hyuga revealed his face.

"Back to the matter at hand, Lady Hokage?" Her face contorted as she recalled the report.

"I don't believe Naruto would betray us, you know that better than anyone I suspect. I fear our favorite blond shinobi has found himself in a bit of trouble. Where was he last headed?" She asked grimly.

"I agree with you, of course, and he last reported that he was headed for the Land of Lightning. Apparently some Kirigakure ninja who was rumored to have connections to Sasuke was harassing local coastal villages." Neji replied.

"Is it possible he got himself killed?" Tsunade mused. When Neji didn't offer an opinion she leaned back a began formulating an idea. "Do we have a description of what he looks like? Naruto, I mean."

"Unfortunately, no. He received special training as part of his preparation for Operation: Spiral. Combined with a few temporary cosmetic surgeries, he is now able to change his appearance without the use of the Transformation Jutsu. It doesn't consume Chakra; it can't even be detected by my Byakugan."

"What kinds of changes exactly?" Tsunade inquired.

"The most notable feature is that his whisker marks were hidden with chakra base cosmetic surgery. Unless removed by a cosmetics surgeon, it will last over a year after application. It matches in with the person's normal chakra and so is nearly undetectable. Only one with the Rinnegan, perhaps, could see it."

"Rinnegan…you speak of the Akatsuki Leader's Kekkei Genkai. The one said to have created Ninjutsu as we know It." asked Tsunade.

"Exactly. And it is such a rare ability that it is unlikely anyone other than him will acquire it in this or many lifetimes. Naruto is now a virtual chameleon. We'd be hard pressed to find him."

"Captain…I want you to take a squad of four and covertly begin tracking him and see if you can find anything. Senior Council will be taking measures to do the same in order to destroy Naruto. Go incognito; we can't afford to spark anything with the Land of Lightning."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade." Neji nodded and left to prepare. Tsunade mused over the predicament the future Hokage had gotten himself in.

'What happened…Naruto?'

_Undisclosed Location in Konohagakure_

"This is the chance we've been waiting for! Now we shall rid ourselves of the Nine-Tailed Fox!" announced a cloaked figure. "We have no doubt that it has finally betrayed us! The Lady Hokage won't act on this chance for she has been blinded by the Demon! As the 'Roots' of Konoha, we must act unseen as always to destroy the enemies of Konoha and ensure that the Tree that is Konoha stands ever strong."

The soldiers took the speech stoically, as they were taught. Emotions had no place in Root, only the mission. It was everything and so they listen with rapt attention. "You have been assigned to groups of four! Go now and scourer the great nations for signs of the beast, if you find him attack with extreme prejudice, do not bring him back alive, if you do you will have failed your mission even more than if you don't find him!" With that the squads vanished leaving nothing but leaves to mark their passing…

* * *

_Outskirts of __Chiri Village_

"Well here we are guys." said a Grey-eyed blond.

"Yeah, now we just gotta find a place to stay." answered his likewise blond companion.

"I'm sure we'll find something, this town isn't that backwater." said the only girl in the group.

The trio grinned as they headed for the town.

**Author's Notes**

Thus the next chapter is complete! What's going to happen to our hero? Both Anbu and Roots are now after him. A mysterious trio has arrived at Chiri Village. Why? What for? Coming up next chapter: Rosuto goes on a mission!


	6. Team Twilight

Hey guys here we are with chapter 5 of The Uzumaki Identity! But before that here are the stats!

Words: 9279

Chapters: 5

Reviews: 19

Hits: 1529

Communities: 7

Favs: 5

Alerts: 8

And those are the stats! Not too bad for my first story. But still, spread the word! Tell your friends about me! I'd like as many people as possible to enjoy my story. If enough people like this one I might make The Uzumaki Supremacy as a sequel! Once again I'd like to thank all the readers of this story, without you it wouldn't have made it passed chapter 1!

As a side note I have changed some things in the story. I actually meant for this to take place in the Land of Lightning. (I misread a Naruto map when planning out the story.) So now it is pretty much the same story just a different location.

--

Chapter 5: Team Twilight

_Rosuto's Mindscape_

Rosuto awoke to darkness. Not the kind that you find outside at night, even on cloudy nights. This was pure blackness. He took a hesitant step forward. "Hello?!" He called out.

"Loser, did you really think you'd ever catch me, did you really think you could bring me back? Pathetic." Said a voice that seemed to come from all directions. Rosuto's eyes widened.

"Who are you? Where are you?" He called out; he remembered the voice but couldn't put a name to it. The voice didn't seem exactly friendly but it knew him, and that meant he could tell him who he was.

"What? Don't remember me? Hasn't been that long…Loser!" Suddenly two giant eyes shot open in front of him. They were a bright crimson with 3 tomoe swirling around in each eye.

"Those eyes…you're the one who shoved the Chidori through my lung!"

"Ah, so the idiot does remember me."

"Wish I did but I don't. Kinda lost my memory, and apparently you weren't important enough to be retained." Rosuto knew otherwise, he knew that this person, whoever it was, was extremely important to him. However, it seemed he didn't take well to being repeatedly insulted. The eyes suddenly flared with barely repressed anger.

_**RAWR!**_

"What the…" the voice said. A bright red pinpoint of light appeared off in the distance.

_**ROAR!!**_

"Ah not that again." Suddenly the eyes disappeared and in their place stood a black-haired teen. His eyes were the same as the ones that he had seen seconds ago. He wore a white uwagi so that his chest was exposed, some kind of blue cloth tied off with a purple belt, dark pants and sandals. He also carried a chokuto. "I know how to deal with you fox!" The pinpoint of red light grew and a giant fox emerged from it. It growled a warning to the boy.

"_**THIS IS PERFECT! I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS CHANCE! YOU HAVE FOR TOO LONG INVADED THIS SPACE, UCHIHA!**" The Uchiha grinned. He walked forward and grabbed the fox. He sent forth a surge of chakra and the fox exploded in a mass of bubbles._

"Pathetic as always…" Without warning the bubbled rushed back together and reformed the fox.

"_**JUST KIDDING, **__**UCHIHA**__**! EVER WONDER HOW THE BOY BECAME SO GOOD AT PRANKS? I DO LIVE IN HIS SUBCONCIOUS AFTER ALL. NOW I SHALL REMOVE YOU FROM THIS PLACE FOREVER!**" The fox began building up chakra._

"What the… how is it possible? I haven't had this much trouble getting rid of you before when I spoke with the idiot!"

"_**THE DIFFERENCE IS HE ISN'T SUPRESSING ME SO I DON'T DISPELL THE GENJUTSU YOU CAST.**" The fox lifted a single massive paw and brought it down on the stunned Uchiha. "__**You may be angry if you ever regain your memories but I have actually done you a great favor**"_

_"Rosuto, it's time to wake up."_

_"Damn it! He could have told me who I was!" Rosuto yelled angrily._

_"**He could have…but he wouldn't have. Goodbye**" Another surge of red chakra and Rosuto disappeared from his mindscape._

_--_

_U__nknown Location_

Sasuke Uchiha suddenly woke up. "Grrr…He repressed the damn fox to keep him from dispelling my genjutsu? Since when was the idiot that good?" Sasuke stood up on the branch he had been sleeping on. Ever since the other members of Team Snake had been defeated he had been traveling alone. He needed a new team to take on his brother. But so far no one met his standards. They had to be tough enough to keep Kisame busy while he annihilated his brother and finally avenged the great Uchiha clan.

That had been his plan with Team Snake, but their incompetence allowed Kisame to distract him long enough for the Itachi lookalike switch places with the real one. "Every damn time!" Sasuke shouted. Itachi was always stronger, faster, smarter, or able to switch with one of the people he'd used that weird jutsu on. And his power was always growing! It seemed nearly impossible to catch up in terms of strength. The only times he could even come close is when he would stumble across him after he had been through a major battle, which was more often than not against Naruto. That was what frustrated him the most. The idiot, loser, dead last could actually give Itachi a run for his money. On the other hand, every time he met up with Itachi while he was at the top of his game, Itachi would swat him aside with contemptuous ease. That meant every time he and the idiot had fought, he was holding back.

Sasuke breathed in deeply and swallowed his anger. He would deal with that loser in due time, after all, he needed punishment for each time he interfered with his revenge. Then he could restart his clan, and …and then…well he would figure it out when the time came. He stretched really quickly and took off at break neck speed towards Iwagakure.

--

_Chiri Village_

"Rosuto, it's time to wake up." said the doctor. He sighed. The boy could sleep through a ninja war it seemed. "Hey, you three got any ideas?" The doctor called to the trio standing near the door.

"Sure, gramps!" The shorter blond in the group said. The girl smacked him on the back of the head.

"Kirdei be polite! He's our employer! My apologies, Mr.Iyaku," She smacked the shorter blond again while the tall blond snickered which, in turn, caused him to get smacked as well. She glared at the pair before continuing, "Sometimes they forget their manners."

"Well it's not a problem. The brat here does the same so I'm used to it." Kirdei grinned as reached into his pouch.

"Everyone may want to clear out, this is going to be loud." He said as he pulled out a piece of paper.

"You can't set off an explosive tag in here!" the doctor exclaimed. "You'll kill the boy and ruin my house!" The girl gripped the older man's shoulder.

"Don't worry sir, that isn't an explosive tag."

"Kuro, still have those ear plugs?" Kirdei asked.

"Yep, right here." She replied.

"Hand 'em out" He said as he laid the paper on Rosuto's face. The doctor caught a glimpse of what was written on the paper.

"A sound tag?" he asked.

"That's right," said the tall blonde, "Kirdei's own invention. He'd have done the Sound village proud had he been from there. When activated it lets out sound equal to an air horn. Perfect for startling enemies and disorientating them."

"Good explanation as always, Wolf," Kirdei said as he backed up. "Kuro, hand out the ear plugs." She nodded and passed them out. Once everyone had them in he set off the tag. The noise never reached the groups ears but apparently scared the hell out of Rosuto.

Once Rosuto had settle down and regained his hearing Tsuki began explaining what was going on. "Rosuto, it's time to move to the next phase of your recovery. We're taking a trip to Kumogakure and you're going on a mission."

"Hmm. Well who are they then gramps?" Rosuto said gesturing towards the trio.

"Kuroiaki Mizuhime." The girl said with a bow.

"Wolf Kasaikou." The tall boy said.

"Kirdei and we're Team Twilight." The shorter blond said with a grin. The instant Kirdei and Rosuto met eyes Rosuto shot backwards. "What the…?"

"You, you're an Uchiha!" The distinctive crimson eyes with tomoes looked straight at him. The blonde looked confused for a second.

"Idiot," Kuroiaki said as she hit him on the back of the head. "You're supposed to give your full name when introducing yourself!"

"Sorry, sorry! Name's Kirdei Tatsumaki. Sorry for the confusion. You however seem to know a bit about the Uchiha."

"Yeah and you're defiantly one of them, you're eyes…" Rosuto said.

"I see now." He began channeling his chakra. "**Suiton: Aqua Field!**" Kirdei breathed in and shot out a small puddle of water before looking back at Rosuto.

"You're eyes…they're blue now." He said calming down. Kirdei shot him a grin.

"Nice, I love telling this story." Wolf and Kuroiaki sighed. They'd obviously heard this story one too many time. That's when the good doctor put his two cents in.

"As much as both Rosuto and I would love to hear this story, we need to be going so tell us on the road. I packed this morning while Rosuto slept so we can leave right now."

"I agree with Mr. Iyaku, we should leave now so we can get there sooner. Perhaps we'll get a job for ourselves." said Kuroiaki. With that Rosuto got up and dressed.

--

_2 Miles outside of Chiri Village_

"Alright story time!" Kirdei called out a bit too enthusiastically. Ignoring the looks of his teammates he set right into it.

"Ok, perhaps you've heard of the Rinnegan?" Kirdei asked Rosuto.

_'…..o, this time we're going after the Akatsuki leader, Pein. He…was once my student and has an extremely powerful dojutsu called the Rinnegan…'_

"I've heard of it." Rosuto replied slowly after hearing his Teacher's voice again. Kirdei nodded.

"That's a start…" Kirdei said.

_--_

_Long ago, a certain person in a certain country developed the Rinnegan. The Rinnegan had incredible powers and allowed him to develop the first jutsu, creating the ninja world as we know it. Time passed and so did the first user of the Rinnegan. Many generations passed with the Rinnegan only developing once in many generations. One such descendant saw fit to create new dojutsu so he could have his own army of powerful dojutsu wielding ninja on his path to godhood. Thus he began work on the first dojutsu. After years of work the Byakugan was born and given to the Hyuga Clan._

_The Byakugan became the Taijutsu eye. Its near 360 degree vision combined with a special brand of taijutsu they developed shortly afterward allowed them to become the deadly fighters. Combined with their X-ray/thermographic and telescopic abilities they were highly capable fighters and scouts. He continued his experiments to improve upon the Byakugan because; despite its awesome power it had major flaws. It had a blind spot at the first thoracic vertebra, near the back of the neck, along with the fact that they had to forsake most advanced jutsu training to hone their Gentle Fist style._

_After much experimentation the User managed to alter the Byakugan gene in Madara Hyuga. His Byakugan ceased to exist and was dismissed as a failed experiment. His own clan chose to reject him because of his loss of the Byakugan and even attacked him when he tried to collect his belongings. It was in this attack, where he had trouble keeping up with the blinding speed of the Gentle Fist, that the Sharingan was born. It emerged fully developed, the only time it happened in Uchiha history, and allowed him to overcome his attackers. Madara changed his name that day from Hyuga to Uchiha. Madara was accepted once again by the User._

_The User began running tests on Madara to learn the full extent of his abilities. Though he had created it, jutsu creation didn't always work the way one wanted, even for one with the Rinnegan. The Sharingan, he discovered, granted the person greatly enhanced perception, which allowed him to pick up any movement no matter how small or fast. It also allowed them to flawlessly copy anything they saw with the Sharingan, down to the last detail. The Sharingan's true calling, despite the ability to copy jutsu down to the last detail, lay with Genjutsu. _

_The User carried his experiments to Madara's first son and discovered that the Sharingan had its own weaknesses. The person didn't receive the Sharingan at birth unlike the Byakugan. Also they didn't receive the 360 degree field of vision. Also any jutsu they copied was usually underpowered in comparison to the original jutsu. They could however see a person's chakra and thus see through jutsu such as the Clone jutsu. What truly surprised the User was that at some point the Sharingan evolved granting Madara a new set of abilities. But for unknown reasons his son's Sharingan never evolved._

_The User was slowly developing his army. He now had a Taijutsu Branch and a Genjutsu Branch. The User was always increasing the number of Byakugan and Sharingan Users, adding to the Hyuga and Uchiha Clans. Once again the User realized his army could be better yet, if he had a Ninjutsu branch. So he began using what he knew of the Byakugan, Sharingan, and especially the Rinnegan. Years went by as the User researched and worked at this next piece. When he was finally satisfied he implanted it into the genes of an Uchiha and a Hyuga. Unfortunately their bodies rejected it; killing the two people. The User then began searching for a suitable subject. Finally he implanted it into the body of the last remaining member of the Tatsumaki Clan. The young man survived and learned to control his new gift._

_The User immediately began running his experiments on the new dojutsu user. The newly formed Soshigan, like its cousins had its advantages and draw backs. It shared much more with the Sharingan than it did with the Byakugan. It ran on the three tomoe system like the Sharingan and only developed during a life or death situation. It also granted the person increased perception and analytical skills, again like the Sharingan. But like the Byakugan it didn't have a second level of evolution and took far longer to master than the Sharingan. However it was worth it to the Clan. The eye had two distinct abilities, the elemental enhancer and the Chakra shield. When using a Jutsu with the Soshigan, its strength is enhanced by a random percent. An example, the hypothetical** Firebomb Jutsu** blows up a sphere with a 10 foot radius, the Soshigan gives it a 50 percent boost thus making it have a 15 foot radius. The chakra shield does the same but in reverse. An incoming jutsu perceived by the Soshigan will activate a chakra shield that will decrease any damage that hits by a random percent. Thus what would have been a 3rd degree burn might only be a 1st degree burn._

_--_

"The weaknesses are a secret though. But because only the Tatsumaki Clan's body didn't reject the gene, we weren't able to compete in size or political power with the others so the Soshigan isn't considered one of the "Three Great Dojutsu". Said Kirdei. Kuroiaki sighed.

"You know most Ninja want to keep both their weaknesses **and **strengths a secret." Kirdei scowled at her.

"Ah what do you know? These two are harmless enough. And maybe they'll think twice about attacking if they were thinking of it." Kirdei retorted. Kuroiaki sighed it was going to be a long trip.

Author's Notes!

And there is chapter 5! I know I promised some action this chapter but I kinda ran over in introducing my own OC characters. I have plans for them in this story that makes them necessary. Anyway next chapter will have Rosuto on his mission and the action begins there. Read and Review!

By the way, Soshigan roughly translates to Elemental Eye…stupid online dictionary.


	7. Mission: Battle at Kumogakure!

My goal this chapter is to finally get to some action! It's been rather slow moving so far with only a small battle in the prologue and even then it was the end of the battle. And so I present to you Chapter 6! (Ps for added effect play www . newgrounds. com / audio/ listen / 61425 when you see the /\ (P.p.s remove the spaces)

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or Bourne identity

--

Chapter 6: Mission: Battle at Kumogakure!

_Land of Lightning: Road from Chiri Village to Kumogakure_

It had been two days since Rosuto, Tsuki and Team Twilight had left Chiri village and Rosuto was ramen starved. He didn't know why but he craved the stuff almost unnaturally.

"Graaaamps. When are we going to read Kumo? I'm starving!!" Rosuto whined.

"Rosuto, we just ate, how can you still be hungry." The doctor replied.

"But that was trail food! I'm talking Ramen! I wanna try Kumo-style ramen!"

"That guy…needs rehab or something." Wolf whispered to Kirdei.

"Seriously, I like ramen as much as the next guy but that's total obsession." _WHACK_

"Would you two shut it? We're supposed to be guarding the Doctor and his patient not chatting about ramen," reprimanded Kuroiaki, "I know it's been boring the whole way there but think guys we're getting near a foreign Village we need to keep our guards up."

"Speaking of Villages," Rosuto asked suddenly serious, "Your forehead protectors are blank. What village are you guys from?"

"Well…" began Kirdei.

_Many years ago in the Land of Fire ther…_**WHACK!**

"Oh hell no, we aren't going to listen to another of your stories Kirdei, I'll tell it." Kuroiaki said.

"Ok, ok sheesh. You tell it." Kirdei said rubbing his head.

"Good boy," Kuroiaki said before patting him on the head, "Have you ever heard of traveling-nin?" she asked. He shook his head, "Well you probably have but that's what I call them. They come in two types. The first type leaves their village but remain loyal to that village. They might be on a training trip or any number of other reasons. The second type…" her voiced hitched.

"The second type have had their homes destroyed," Wolf continued grimly, "It doesn't happen often, usually Hidden Villages are conquered not destroyed, but it does happen sometimes." Kuroiaki regained her voice.

"One day the 'Otokage' Orochimaru came demanding we help him in the 'SoundSand-Leaf war. At the same time we had emissaries in Konoha working on a peace treaty. We asked him to let us have time to decide and he granted our elders a week. During that week one of his subordinates got in a fight with a member of the Tatsumaki clan. The 'Otokage' was watching and couldn't have been more pleased. When the week ended we refused and he answered with force. He gave out an order to kill all and capture any Tatsumaki clan members they could. The Snake had seen the Soshigan's power and wanted it for his own Village no doubt. He razed the Village en masse and only the three of us and the emissaries had survived. And even then they had died in the attack on Konoha. Apparently he was unable to take any of Kirdei's clan." She went quiet again.

"We survived, but just barely" Kirdei picked up solemnly, "they had left us for dead, and worse, within days we were the only Hakumeigakurans left. We were found and nursed back to health by a group of traveling-nin," Kirdei looked away, "then we parted ways and formed our own traveling-nin group. Time passed and we grew up we decided that it may not be the best of lives but it could be far worse. We decided we'd remain loyal to Hakumeigakure till we died. We've done pretty well ever since." Kirdei looked up and activated his Soshigan. "Hey! Look its Kumo!"

"'Bout time," Shouted Wolf, "Thought we'd never arrive." Tsuki shook his head. "Young man you are about as impatient as Rosuto. What do you say we pick up the pace huh? I may be old but I bet I can still keep up with you youngsters!" With that Tsuki took off. When the dust settled Team Twilight and Rosuto looked dumbfounded.

--

Rosuto headed immediately headed for the nearest Ramen stand…or he would have if Kirdei hadn't clothes lined him. "Hey what was that for?" He shouted angrily.

"Didn't you hear Tsuki-sensei? He said don't leave we had some business to discuss! Geez you have a one track mind when it comes to ramen huh?" Rosuto scratched his head sheepishly.

"As I was saying Rosuto, You need to go pick up some gear for your mission. Kuroiaki will accompany you there and help you pick out gear. Afterwards you can go get ramen or whatever while she goes to meet up with her team. We'll meet up with them after your mission which will probably be tomorrow. Here's some cash." Tsuki tossed him the small wallet from before. "Should be enough in there for gear and lunch." Kuroiaki nodded to Tsuki then faced her team.

"Come on Rosuto, we'll get you some new clothes first. No respectable ninja would be caught dead wearing an old man's old clothes." They took off snickering before Tsuki could say anything.

"Well we gotta go see about a room and some missions of our own, Gramps. We'll see ya later!" Wolf said before taking off with Kirdei.

"Damn kids, always on the go." Tsuki said before taking off for the Raikage's office.

--

Rosuto hadn't regretted anything more than agreeing to go clothes shopping with a Kunoichi in the short time that he could remember of his life. She dragged him in to every store she could find and forced him to try on everything she could get her hands on. After reminding her several times of their budget they (she) decided on a fishnet undershirt, loose black pants, and a black vest with holsters for scrolls. Afterwards they headed for the Military surplus store for the rest of the gear he needed. They picked up a small pouch, a small stack of explosive tags, a kunai holster with kunai and shuriken, and a few other necessities. "Geez Kuro-chan, you sure like to shop."

"Well, what do you expect? I am a girl after all."

"Yeah but you didn't leave me any money for Ramen!"

"Oops, my bad," She said with a smile, "Guess you will have to wait to eat with Tsuki-san!" She took off a blinding speed away from Rosuto. "Have fun!"

"Damn it, Kuro!" He called but didn't chase after her. He had enough of the Kunoichi for the time being. With a broken spirit, he slowly headed towards the hotel Tsuki said they'd be staying in.

--

Tsuki bowed as he entered the Raikage's office. "Lord Raikage."

"Ah, Tsuki-san, good to see you, old friend. How may I help you? You need another X-ray machine?" Tsuki grinned. He and the current Raikage had gone to the Kumo Academy together.

"Actually I need a favor. I found a patient," He began.

"Found?" The Raikage questioned.

"Yeah, found, half-dead floating in the ocean. But that's beside the point. He's recovering nicely and it appears he was a traveling-nin. I was wondering if you could assign him to a D-ranked mission as a sort of therapy." The Raikage folded his hands in front of his face.

"This is a big chance your taking. You realize this right? Can you vouch for his skills?"

"Yeah he could very well be Chunin or maybe even Jonin."

"Hmm." The Raikage began shuffling through papers. "Team 7 has a man in the hospital and has been put on standby. I can only offer half pay because he is a travel-nin and his skills are…uncertain at best."

"Thank you, Lord Raikage." Tsuki said with a bow. "Don't thank me yet, the team may not take well to…"

"Rosuto."

"Yes. They may be rough with him."

"I'm counting on it. hopefully it will help his recovery." The Raikage shook his head.

"You doctors have strange ways, you know that?" They grinned at each other. "Please stay for dinner, it's been too long."

"Sounds good."

--

A Konoha Anbu Captain stood silently over Chiri Village. "Well?" He asked one of his subordinates.

"Sir, we checked with the villagers and the Gate guards. Apparently a local doctor picked up a man in his late teens and he has been living here for some time. We think it might be the fox-demon." The Captain grinned behind his mask.

"It seems we've caught up to the demon-fox, Lord Danzo will be pleased. Check for signs of his passing we must not let him slip through our fingers!"

"Yes, Captain!" The Root soldiers said as they took off.

--

_The next day_

"Rosuto Nagori, that is you correct?" Asked the Raikage.

"Yes, Lord Raikage." Rosuto said with a bow.

"You will be joining Team 7 on their mission today."

_"Team 7 will consist of ….to Uz…I, Sakura Haruno,"began a brown haired teacher._

_"Yeah!" Yelled a blonde haired kid._

_"I'm doomed!"mopped a Pink Haired Goddess_

_"And Sasuke Uchiha."_

_"Yeah!" Yelled the pink Haired Goddess_

_"I'm doomed." Mumbled the blonde._

"You will be cleaning up the woods outside the village. The team's Jonin sensei will not be accompanying you during this mission, but I'm sure you will act accordingly and stay on task. Bring Team 7 in!" Two dark haired ninja wearing fishnet armor entered the room and scowled at Rosuto.

"Lord Raikage," One of them began, "Must we really work with this _travel-nin_." The distain in her voice was almost a solid thing.

"You will do as your Raikage orders!" His assistant reprimanded.

"Rosuto this is Noto and Asako Yoshimori. You will be working with them to complete this mission." Rosuto nodded. "Any questions before you leave?"

"None, Lord Raikage."

"Dismissed."

--

"Rosuto, be careful. You're an outsider to them so they may not treat you well."

"Yes, Tsuki-sensei."

"Good Luck, boy."

"Hey, come on Loser we got a job to do!"

_"You're such a Loser!"_

Rosuto almost flinched.

--

_A few hours later_

Rosuto had been warned that they may not like him but he didn't think it would be this bad. The knocked him over 'on accident' multiple times, cut his trash bag, and did anything they could to disrupt his work.

"Hey, Loser you're trash bag has sprung a leak again! You need to be more careful." One said as he snickered. Rosuto said nothing as he removed a Senbon needle and patched up his bag. He breathed in deeply. 'Don't screw this up, don't screw this up.' He mentally chanted. 'Don't…' Trash suddenly piled on top of him.

"Oops sorry must have slipped." Rosuto felt his rage building.

"What the hell is your problem? I haven't done anything to you!"

"Pssh, you take money from our family and you dare claim innocence? Just by working for our village you steal from us. And to be honest, we don't like you."

"Hey, brother, what if we got attacked by ninja that were spying on the village?" One said with a grin.

"And what if the no-name travel-nin died…" Rosuto did not like where this was going. He carefully reached for his Kunai holster. He flipped the latch up and reached inside and found it was empty!

"Looking for these?" One brother said as he held up several Kunai. Rosuto scowled at him. "Hah!" he shouted as he flung one of the Kunai.

"Whoa!" Rosuto said before being struck dead in the forehead. Blood poured out of the wound as he flew backwards…and exploded into a puff of smoke, a log in his place.

"Substitution, so the loser graduated from a ninja academy. Good for you. But not good enough!" The same one threw another Kunai. Rosuto fell from a tree grasping a kunai hilt near his chest.

"Looks like you got him brother…"

"Heh, just kidding. And you call me a loser?" Rosuto revealed that the kunai never hit him.

"Looks like we should get serious brother."

"I agree," The brothers rushed towards Rosuto while pulling out Kunai. Rosuto shifted into a defensive stance with the kunai he caught out in front of him. One brother swung low and the other swung high. Rosuto dodged the rush and swiped at the one of the brother's with his kunai, but missed. Rosuto quickly flanked them and planted a kick in each one's back, sending them flying into a tree.

"Brother, perhaps we should use," one said before coughing up some blood, "Our trump card, this guy is better than we thought." The other one nodded. Standing up, the Brothers began executing multiple hand signs, "**Raiton: Shock**** Clone Jutsu!**" They said in unison. Over thirty clones surrounded Rosuto.

"Attack!" One of them yelled. Just before the first clone hit Rosuto a Kunai flew down and destroyed it. Rosuto, the brothers, and all the clones suddenly looked in the direction the Kunai came from. Wolf, Kuroiaki, and Kirdei stood on top of a tree branch looking down on them.

"Seems we arrived just in time." Wolf said with a grin.

"Yeah looks fun!" Kirdei said excitedly.

"Don't interfere, stupid travel-nin!" One brother called out.

"Heh, let's show 'em a thing or two boys." Kuroiaki said.

The trio jumped down and smashed the nearest three clones. Electricity exploded from the defeated clones shocking the trio. "Damn," Kirdei said, "Should have seen that one coming." Rosuto ran over and helped them up. Their legs were unsteady but they could stand.

"I told you to use the Soshigan but noooo you had to be overconfident." Wolf said…teasingly?

The trio began snickering. "What's so funny?" One of the clones yelled. The trio's legs suddenly steadied.

"You think we would come unprepared for lightning attacks? In the Land of _Lightning_? We have rubber soles on our ninja tabi." The clones scowled.

"Fine we'll use numbers!" The clones began their hand signs again. "**Raiton: Lightning Clone Jutsu!**" The number of clones nearly tripled.

"Uh, Kirdei, the rubber soles are great and all if we kick but they could just jump on top of us with that many. Please tell me you have something to take out this many clones." A drop of sweat slid down his face; the confidence the trio had moments ago was gone.

"I don't have enough chakra…that mission drained me. What about you," Kirdei asked Rosuto, "You haven't done any real techniques yet, time to show us what you got!" Kirdei yelled at Rosuto. Rosuto closed his eyes and thought hard; searching for anything that could save them from death.

'_**Boy, take some chakra, knock the hell out of those brats. I think you'll know what to do with it**'_

/\

_Rosuto suddenly felt ungodly amounts of chakra flow through him. He closed his eyes and let his instincts take over. Sheep, snake, tiger. Rosuto formed the hand seals for an unknown jutsu. The chakra bean molding. "**Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!!**" The words came unbidden, along with two thousand plus clones._

"Holy hell…" Wolf whispered.

"Damn…" Kirdei whispered.

"That's…" Kuroiaki said.

"All right guys! Let's show them what real clones are like!" The Brother's clones gasped. They were outnumber, outgunned, and outclassed.

"B-b-b-b-brother…"

"Attack!" The Rosuto clones leapt into action. Lightning clones were demolished in the dozens until the real ones were the only ones left. The lightning had does some damage of its own though, only six Rosuto's remained. They flanked the brothers and began a new attack. The first clone punched the brothers toward four other clones. The four clones dropped low and kicked the brothers upward.

"**Ro**"

"**Su**"

"**To**"

The clones said with each kick. The remaining clone leapt off the first one's back and shot into the air above the brothers. The final Rosuto performed a double axe kick on the brothers' faces and yelled, "**Nagori Barrage!**" The brothers flew down and smashed into the ground kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

"So that's him, our target…" Wolf whispered to his Teammates. Kirdei and Kuroiaki nodded. "You felt it right? The demon chakra?" Kirdei and Kuroiaki didn't respond, they just stared into the dust cloud.

"H-how are you so strong?" One of the brothers gasped.

"For the time being those three are my trusted comrades. They came to assist me even though it wasn't required of them and they saved my life. I in turn brought forth all my strength to protect their lives because that is MY ninja way." Rosuto said with conviction as the ninja brothers passed out.

_I will create my own nindo, my own ninja way!_

"That was awesome Rosuto!" Kuroiaki yelled out to him when the dust cleared.

"Yeah, but we have a problem now. They're going to wonder why their guys got the crap beat out of them by some unknown ninja." Kirdei said quietly.

"Damn, you're right Kirdei. We need to get out of here, NOW!" Wolf yelled. "We'll drop them off near town but we need to leave." Kirdei and Kuroiaki nodded and grabbed the brothers.

--

"Damn, look what you've done now Rosuto. You need to leave the Land of Lightning now. The Kumo ninja are going to want your head for this." Tsuki said. He looked to the Twilight trio. "I'll pay you guys if you'll take him from here, wherever you plan on going next just keep him safe while he recovers."

"Recovers? From what? He beat the hell out of those Cloud nin!" Wolf yelled.

"You'll have to ask him yourself. It's no longer my place to tell you. Please!" Tsuki pleaded. He got down on his knees and bowed his head to the floor. "I don't know why but I feel that he will need you before he can be safe." Kuroiaki glared at Wolf.

"Tch, fine. We'll get him out of the Land of Lightning" Wolf said. "But it'll cost 50,000 ryo." Kuroiaki smacked him on the head. "We'll do it for 20,000; he saved our lives after all." The doctor nodded and pulled the cash out.

"Geez, doc, you're walking around with quite a bit of cash." Kirdei said.

"I thought I may need it."

"I'm sorry for all the trouble, Tsuki-sensei." Rosuto said. "I'm grateful." He held out his hand.

"Best of luck to you, Rosuto Nagori." They traded grips.

--

Chiri Village: West side

"Captain they aren't here, the guards said they left days ago for Kumogakure."

"Then it is time to get going." The Root captain replied. "We mustn't fail, Lord Danzo, demands it. We must kill the Nine-tailed Fox!"

--

Chiri Village: East Side

"Neji, isn't this village just the most beautiful thing you've ever seen." said a blond in tourist clothing.

"Yes Ino, my love, almost as beautiful as you." Neji said in what could pass as lovey-dovey talk. Neji was nothing if not a good actor since he joined Anbu. Ino struggled not to laugh. Neji rarely showed emotion and it was hilarious to see him trying to act like a newlywed.

Ino glanced over at her best friend and rival. Sakura had only been in Anbu for a few months as opposed to her few years but she had done well. Then this little mess with Operation: Spiral and Tsunade had her moved to a position to assist Naruto. She didn't know yet that Naruto hadn't actually abandoned Konoha or about Operation: Spiral, but Tsunade thought it would be good for her if she was going to rescue him.

"Cheer up, love. We're on our honey moon after all, even if it is troublesome." Shikamaru said as he walked up next to Sakura and put an arm around her. He sounded good but looked as though he'd rather be elsewhere.

'Probably watching clouds.' Thought Ino. "Yeah, forehead-girl! We're supposed to be having the time of our lives!" Ino said but the look in her eyes said otherwise. Sakura got the message loud and clear, 'Get your ass into gear we're on a mission.'

"Heh, sorry Pig, I was thinking about something." She said causing a vein to appear on Ino's forehead. Neji stopped the fight and ushered the glaring girls and the lazy Anbu towards the hotel.

--

"I swear I'll never figure out how you and Sakura ever made it into Anbu." Ino taunted Shikamaru. Neji shot a glare at her.

"Oh, relax. We set up the genjutsu! If anyone tries to listen-in they'll hear sound one might find occurring between couples on their honeymoon." She said casually. Sakura was slowly moving towards Ino with the intent to kill. "And Sakura you need to chill out, I was just kidding."

"Tch, troublesome women. Anyway, we'll need to sneak out after dark and patrol the town. Look for any signs of Naruto. Tomorrow we'll ask around town. If we haven't found anything by then we'll head out to the next town."

"Who died and made you, Captain?" Ino shouted.

"Neji invited me along as a tactical advisor, I'm just telling you our best course of action." Shikamaru said, irritated.

"Shikamaru is right Ino. He'll be telling us our tactical plans during this mission. If I feel that plans need to be changed, I'll let you know. I may have made Jonin first, but Shikamaru has a far better tactical mind than anyone of us will ever have." Neji said in his normal voice, the lovey-doveyness gone.

"Sakura, come on, back me up! You've been quiet all day! Say something!" Ino shouted.

"Ino, will you pipe do.."

"Sorry, I guess I'm just worried, and nervous." Sakura said, ignoring Shikamaru's complaints.

"Tch, troublesome."

"I mean, what if he's turned out just like Sasuke? What if he's cold and heartless and won't come back with us?" She said tearing up.

"Then we'll bring him back by force." Ino said, trying her hardest not to tell her that Naruto never turned. Tsunade said it would be best if he told her himself.

"That's exactly what we said about Sasuke, but each time he's been stronger than us."

"That's 'cause you guys were holding back a bit." Ino tried.

"Yeah but this time, Naruto might not hold back. He could unleash any number of the Nine-tailed fox's tails. He could decimate us without touching us." Sakura said. Tears could no longer be held back. They began pouring out with abandon.

"No, Naruto isn't like that and you know it! I bet he had some kind of plan to save Sasuke and had to leave so he could train for it!" Ino said trying to comfort her. Neji and Shikamaru shot her warning glares. She'd come awfully close to revealing the truth. Sakura hiccupped and began calming down.

"Maybe…" Sakura said passively.

"Sakura, you need to have confidence in yourself and Naruto! Even if he has turned you've got the ability to stop him. You've surpassed Lady Tsunade a hundred times over when she was at her prime! Well, maybe not in the chest department…" This caused Sakura to smirk evilly.

"Passed you up easily enough."

"Psssh, I bet you're using Lady Tsunade's transformation jutsu." They grinned at each other. Ino could always cheer Sakura up, something she'd had to do often since Naruto left. It had nearly broken her.

"Rest up guys, we start patrolling in a couple hours." Said Shikamaru. Everyone nodded and settled in to nap.

_--_

_Somewhere outside Kumogakure_

"Are the traps set up." A voice said quietly.

"Yeah," said a second.

"Good, we don't want anyone surprising us while we rest."

"He's asleep, now." Said a third voice.

"Good."

"What's our next step?"

"We need to gain his trust, of course."

"Yeah, we also need to contact _him_."

"Alright… **Summoning Jutsu!**" Said one of the voices. A small bird appeared. One of the people began scribbling a note.

"Take this to Lord Tobi."

"Squawk!" it said before taking off.

"Get a fire going."

"**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!**" A blaze lit up the clearing illuminating Kirdei, Wolf, and Kuroiaki.

"Good work, Kirdei." Kuroiaki praised.

"Think they'll make us full members of the Akatsuki for this?"

"Who knows?"

--

**Author's notes**

Whoa? What's this? Team twilight is working for the Akatsuki?

Oh yeah and if you were wondering. Kirdei's last name, Tatsumaki, translated to Tornado. Wolf's last name, Kasaikou, means Fire Lord. and Kuroiaki's last name, Mizuhime, means Water Princess. Also Hakumeigakure is the Village Hidden in the Twilight, hence the name Team Twilight. Roughly anyway. Read and Review!


	8. Complications

And here it is! Chapter 7 of the Uzumaki Identity is finally out! Sorry it took so long, between the last couple weeks of school and joining the Us Navy's delayed entry program I haven't had any time to sit and write. So I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or The Bourne Identity.**

--

Chapter 7: Complications

_Chiri Village_

"We need to move now! Reports of someone matching Naruto's description left for Kumogakure!" Shikamaru said as he burst into the hotel room. Ino and Sakura looked up from their card game while Neji stopped meditating.

He had gone out to get some food while they were resting when he heard a woman talking to someone. She had told the other person how a nice young man ad saved her daughter from a falling piano using clones. She then began describing what she could remember of him.

_'__Oh he was a handsome young man__. If I remember right he had unruly, __spiky__ black hair though I think it might have been dyed, he looked more like a blond to me. Also he had the clearest blue eyes!'_

"Ok, gear up guys. Tsunade said we needed to go incognito but we might have a fight on our hands." Neji said as he pulled out his Anbu armor from his bag. The group nodded and began taking out their armor.

Shikamaru finished getting ready first and sat in a meditating position; gathering chakra. After a few seconds he began flipping through hand signs. "**Ninja Art: Summoning Darkness**" There was a moment of complete stillness.

--

Outside it was a clear, cloudless night. Couples walked down the streets enjoying the light the stars and moon provided. Out of nowhere a strong wind picked up and clouds began moving in from over the ocean.

"Dear, perhaps we should go home. Those look like rain clouds," said a woman. Her significant other nodded and they began heading home. Within minutes there was complete and total darkness. Nobody noticed the Anbu slip out of the hotel and leave the village.

--

_Forest Outside Chiri Village_

Neji's squad stuck to the shadows as they ran down the road to Kumogakure. Stealth was imperative at this point as any detection would surely mean their deaths. But they had honed their skills to the point where they were the top ANBU squad in the Konoha village, often coming back alive and well from what were previously considered suicide missions. Neji was secretly proud of each member even though in their youth they were bottom of the barrel ninja. They were…

"Stop right there!" someone called out. Neji's squad froze in place and looked for the source of the voice. In the middle of a road an old man stood holding a kunai while looking straight at Neji. When they didn't come out he gritted his teeth and performed hand signs. "**Lightning Style: Lightning Lance!**" The old man drew his arm back and threw the kunai at Neji. Mid flight the kunai exploded in electricity. Neji dodged the attack just before the kunai struck and the tree exploded. Neji landed in front of the old man and moved into his Gentle Fist stance.

"We don't wish to fight you, were tracking a ninja who went MIA and we need to catch him before others who want nothing but to destroy him." Neji said calmly. The old man's eyes widened before he relaxed.

"I see, so he was from Konoha." The old man said to himself. Sakura rushed forward and gripped the old man's shirt.

"Who are you and what have you done to Naruto!"

"I am Tsuki Iyaku, and I haven't done anything to this Naruto."

"Calm down." Shikamaru said. "Can you tell us where he went, Mr. Iyaku?" The old man nodded.

"He beat up some Kumo-nin while on a mission for me and I hired a team of travel-nin to help him escape. I believe they were headed for the Land of Earth. But…"

"Thanks!" Sakura said before taking off.

"Hey wait!" Ino yelled, following her.

"Tch, Troublesome."

"Damn it, thank you for the help Mr. Iyaku." Neji said with a quick bow.

"Damn it, you youngsters! You need to listen when your elders speak to you!" Tsuki yelled, but his words went unheard. "Something must be up; Kumogakure's ANBU wouldn't have left in such a hurry especially when there was more information to be had." Tsuki shook his head. "Rosuto…Naruto good luck I think you're going to need it." Four dark figures appeared in front of Tsuki. "Hey I just told your friends where…"

"I know we heard. Now you're going to be nice and tell us what they missed so we can get to him first." The leader said. They each drew their swords. "We'd hate for this to get ugly." Tsuki grimaced and drew a kunai.

"You really should respect your elders. So you're the ones who want to hurt Rosut…I mean Naruto." Tsuki moved into a defensive position.

"Well then old man, teach us a lesson." Tsuki flipped through hand signs.

"**Lightning Style: Lightning Lance!**" Tsuki yelled as he threw the kunai.

--

Tobi stood outside the Akatsuki hideout looking up at the sky. A bird circled overhead and was slowly descending. He waited patiently for the bird to finally land on his arm. He removed a note that was tied to its leg and it disappeared in a poof of smoke. He opened the note and read it. A grin formed under his mask. "Itachi-san!" Itachi slowly walked out of a cave.

"What is it, Tobi?" he asked.

"Looks like Team Twilight picked up the Nine-tailed fox near Kumogakure. They are going to head to the Land of Earth before bee lining it to Amegakure." Itachi said nothing as he watched Tobi. "You should go check on them at least, Itachi-san." Itachi said nothing as he began walking toward the Land of Earth.

--

Rosuto yawned as he sat up. "Morning sleepy head," Kirdei greeted. "Glad you decided to join us for breakfast." Kirdei was sitting next to a small fire, cooking. Rosuto yawned again.

"Where are Wolf and Kuroiaki?" He asked.

"Meh, who knows? I sent them to get water at a nearby stream but that was nearly a half hour ago. Probably making out or something." Rosuto shot him a confused look.

"Oh yeah, not long after we left our village the three of us became very close. They became like my brother and sister. On the other hand, they developed some romantic feelings for each other. They've been dating ever since." Rosuto nodded and looked at the fire. "So, what is it that the doc said you were recovering from?" Rosuto didn't answer for a couple of seconds, just staring at the fire.

"Can I trust you?" he finally said. "This thing, it scares me more than anything and might be my greatest weakness right now." Kirdei looked at him sympathetically.

"Yeah, sure, Rosuto. You can trust me, I won't tell anyone. Not even Kuro and Wolfy." Rosuto nodded.

"I can't remember anything." Kirdei blinked.

"Um…"

"Well I remember some stuff, but I have lost all memory from before I met the doctor. Since then I have slowly remembered some things but no names, only faces." Rosuto's face fell. Kirdei felt a pang of sympathy but quickly crushed it. He definitely didn't need to feel that for the target. Rosuto gripped his stomach.

"I may seem happy and carefree all the time but…"

"But…?"

"It's scary. I know so many strange things and have so many strange powers, yet I don't know why."

'Time to gain his trust.' "Hey, cheer up man. We're here to help you. That time we tried to save you but ended up botching it, then you saved us. That makes us comrades. I want to talk it over with Kuro and Wolf but how would you like to join Team Twilight? Even if it's only until you regain your memory." Rosuto's eyes widened. A smile slowly made its way across his face.

"Yeah, I'd like that." The bushes near by suddenly rustled and three people in Anbu armor appeared.

"We've finally found you…"

--

Wolf walks quietly along a forest trail with Kuroiaki on his arm. It was rare for the couple to spend time alone as they were always on the move. Kirdei, however, had insisted they go for a walk because things were probably going to be hectic for awhile.

Team Twilight had successfully, if accidentally, located the Nine-tailed Fox and he didn't even realize they were agents of the Akatsuki. Unfortunately he probably knew that Amegakure was the Akatsuki's headquarters and they would probably have to knock him out and keep him sedated. That meant they would have to find away to conceal his body during the long trip back.

They had decided that the best way to prevent Konoha from becoming suspicious would be to cut through the Land of Rice Fields and Land of Waterfall into the Land of Earth and come into Amegakure through the back. Orochimaru had long since abandoned Otogakure and if they avoided Takigakure they wouldn't be troubled.

"Do you think we'll be able to do this? He's rather famous; his bingo book entry…" Kuroiaki said before having a finger put to her lips.

"Not now. Kirdei said we'd have plenty of time to discuss work later, let's just enjoy some quiet time while we have it." Kuroiaki smiled.

"I'm sorry you're right, I'm just worried." Wolf put an arm around her and hugged her tight.

"Hey, no worries, alright? As long as you, Kirdei and I stick together, we won't have any problems that we can't handle. And maybe if we play our cards right we'll be able to rebuild Hakumei." Kuroiaki stood on her tip-toes and kissed Wolf on the cheek.

"I hope so, and you're right; I can always count on the two of you. Even if you are idiots."

"Hey…!" Wolf suddenly stopped. "Did you hear that?"

"No, but you know you have better hearing than I do."

"Shhh." Wolf listened intently then began sniffing the air.

"We've finally found you…"

"Come on!" He said and began pulling her back to camp.

--

"We've finally found you…Nine-tailed Fox!" said one of the Anbu.

'Damn I was hoping we wouldn't have to deal with anyone.' Kirdei thought as they stood up. Kirdei and Rosuto drew their kunai as they Anbu soldiers drew closer.

"We have no business with you," The captain said to Kirdei, "Turn the Jinchuriki over to us and you can go free."

'Fat chance now that I've seen them.'

"Not happening!" Kirdei yelled.

"That's a shame. We'll just have to deal with you like we did with that Doctor."

"Damn you! I'll kill you all!" Rosuto yelled; red bleeding into his now slit pupils. Wolf and Kuroiaki burst into the clearing behind Kirdei and Rosuto.

"Kirdei what's going on?" Wolf yelled.

"We get to have a little fun, I guess." He replied with a shrug.

"There's only three of them, Rosuto sit this one out, we'll show you how we do it Twilight style."

"No! They've hurt Tsuki-sensei or worse!" Kuroiaki walked up behind him and grabbed his thighs. Rosuto crumpled to the ground as she withdrew glowing blue hands.

"Let us take care of this; we're your bodyguards right now." Rosuto screamed as he tried to move but couldn't.

_"Ra--g-n!" yelled a boy as he thrust a glowing blue orb of chakra at his four-eyed opponent. The man easily dodged the attack and placed a hand on his thigh._

_"You should have run while you had the chance. Now you can't even move." He said as he pushed his glasses up._

Kirdei formed a hand sign and looked up at the Anbu as crimson bled into his eyes and tomoes appeared. "What? He's an Uchiha? Take him out first but don't kill him, we're going to bring him back with us." The captain ordered.

"Feh. Uchiha. I'm insulted. Those arrogant idiots couldn't hold a light to my clan." The captain gritted his teeth and formed his own hand signs.

"**Earth Style: Dark Swamp Jutsu!**" Kirdei's eyes suddenly flashed to an amber color.

"**Chakra Shield: 43 Percent!**" The ground began sinking into swampland. Rosuto jumped back to stand with Wolf and Kuroiaki while Kirdei remained still. The swamp rushed up, grabbing at Kirdei's feet when a rush of green chakra surrounded them and blew the swamp matter away. They chakra swirled around his feet for a second while Kirdei glared at the attackers, letting them get a good look before jumping to the edge of the newly created swamp. When he landed the chakra dissipated and some of the swamp reached out and grabbed his foot which he quickly shook off.

"That the best you've got? Pathetic," Kirdei glared at them once more with his Amber eyes, tomoe swirling. "Let me show you how it should have been done." He executed hand signs that were extremely familiar to the Anbu Captain. "**Earth Style: Dark Swamp Jutsu! Jutsu Enhancement: 67 Percent!**" Half the clearing suddenly changed into swampland capturing all but the farthest Anbu soldier.

"Captain!"

"How…how could you do that?" the captain stuttered.

"Family secret." Kirdei said with a glance in Kuroiaki's direction.

"Kuro, go play with the one that didn't get caught; Kirdei and I will take care of these two." Wolf ordered.

"Right." She said as she ran toward the enemy.

--

The Anbu caught in the swamp had just managed to pull her allies out when Kuroiaki struck. Her hands were blazing with blue chakra. She caught her right in the chest and knocked her through the tree line into another clearing. The other soldiers tried to gang up on her then but Wolf and Kirdei intercepted. "Go, Kuro-chan!" Kirdei called. When she found the Anbu she was twitching and rolling on the ground.

"Come on. I just barely got you; you should still have most of your motor functions." The Anbu looked up and her, probably glaring. She rose shakily.

"I think I got this. You screwed up my nervous system pretty good there." She steadied herself and settled into her stance. "Let's go."

--

Wolf and Kirdei shot a grin at the Anbu as Kuroiaki took off into the tree line. The swamp Kirdei had created had rotted away their armor at an incredible rate. "I didn't realize that your jutsu also rotted away at things. Thanks a lot; it'll be pretty useful in the future!" Kirdei said.

"Well let's get started. We'll go first if you don't mind," Wolf said as he nodded at Kirdei.

"Twilight Style: Moonlight Rush!" They shouted as they charged. Wolf jumped and spun mid-air delivering a crushing kick to their faces while Kirdei swept at their feet. Caught off guard they were smashed into each other and knocked to the ground.

"That worked pretty well. Wasn't sure if we could do that on two people at the same time." Kirdei said with a grin. Wolf grinned for a second then looked blank.

"Ninja Art: Skull Melting." He said as he pointed a finger at the Anbu. A breeze blew through the clearing while the Anbu stared at the duo. When nothing happened Wolf groaned.

"Told ya. You don't have any talent for genjutsu. You should stick to your clan's jutsu." Kirdei said. The Anbu twitched and drew their swords.

"Stop screwing with us. We'll kill you before you could blink." The Anbu disappeared and a flash. There was a loud clash of metal on metal. Kirdei stood holding both Anbu back with a sword of his own. Behind him, a scroll lay discarded with a line of blood over some of the words.

"Wolf, now!" Wolf nodded and jumped into the air forming hand signs.

'**Fire Style: Meteor Kick!**" Wolf's foot caught fire and he brought it down on one of the Anbu soldiers, knocking him out cold.

"Nice. Wait, where's Rosuto?" Kirdei shouted.

--

Kuroiaki was at a stalemate with her opponent. They both happened to be very good at evading each other's attacks. Fortunately she had only been relying on her medical taijutsu. Her opponent didn't realize she still had other abilities up her sleeve, like Ninjutsu and Genjutsu.

"How about we stop holding back." The Anbu offered.

'Ok, maybe she does realize.' Kuroiaki thought. She nodded at her opponent and her hands stopped glowing blue. The Anbu drew her sword and made a hand sign.

"**Ninja Art: Crescent Moon Dance!**" As she leaped forward she separated into three clones. Kuroiaki drew a kunai and leaped at and through the clone on the right.

"My turn! **Water Style: Aqua Field!**" Kuroiaki's mouth let loose a torrent of water drenching the entire clearing. The area slowly began filling until it was ankle deep. The Anbu looked around and realized the water was being contained within the clearing; the ground wasn't soaking it up and it wasn't going past the trees. "Eyes on me! **Water Style: Tidal…**" She began but was interrupted.

"**Water Style: Boiler Jutsu!**" The water around Kuroiaki superheated and exploded into steam. "Looks like we share an affinity for water," said the Anbu.

Kuroiaki kneeled in the water. She had managed to evade most of the steam but her legs had been scalded. Kuroiaki steadied herself on the ground with one hand while glaring at the Anbu. Under the water, Kuroiaki's hand began glowing a soft green color, unseen by her opponent. She sank to her knees and began breathing hard.

"What's wrong? Out of steam already? Heh, man I'm funny." The Anbu slowly began walking toward Kuroiaki. "Tell you what, stay still and I'll end this quickly."

'Damn it, heal faster!' Kuroiaki thought. The damage had been greater than she had originally thought. The Anbu would deliver the final blow in just 8 steps. She hands flared up into a brighter green.

7 steps.

She wasn't going to make it.

6 steps.

She pulled her hands out of the water and began executing hand signs.

5 steps.

She could feel her chakra beginning to mold.

4 steps.

The chakra began rushing from every cell in her body.

3 steps.

Blinding pain shot up through her legs. Every cell meant every cell.

2 steps.

Kuroiaki flinched.

1 step.

"This is it!" The Anbu brought her sword down on Kuroiaki. Kuroiaki screamed.

--

"Hey, pay attention!!" The Anbu Captain yelled. He jumped back away from the pair. "You guys may have beaten my underling but I've been holding back!" His face fell under his mask. The pair of blonds were still talking about the Nine-Tails. He felt his face heat up as he charged. A second before he reached them Wolf's fist flashed out and knocked the Anbu back.

"We need to find him."

"Yeah I know. But we can't leave Kuro. This guy might try a dirty trick or something."

"Well yeah, he's a ninja. We're all ninja. That's what we do."

"Hey, she's your girlfriend. You want to leave her to chance, that's your call. I'm not going to though."

"Well what I finished this guy really quickly then we went to find him?"

"You going to use that, jutsu?"

"Yeah."

"Aw man, but you're going to smell like dog."

"So?"

"You better take a bath before we camp or I swear to god I will throw you in a river myself, even if I have to make one." Kirdei said as he began walking away.

"Right then." The pair turned and faced the downed Anbu. "Sorry we took so long. Hey, what happened to you?"

"Don't you dare mock me!" he snarled.

"Um right then. I hate to rush this but I'm going to have to finish you off now." The Anbu snarled again and charged. "Hey shouldn't you be a master of your emotions? I mean seriously, you're Root Anbu, I thought they bred you guys to have no emotions. Danzo must be having problems recruiting new members." The Anbu swung his fist wildly at Wolf who caught the attack and tossed the Anbu away.

"**Ninja Art: ****Wolven**** Form!**" Wolf yelled. He began twitching as his body began to change. His finger nails grew longer and sharper, his pupils became slits, his canines became more pronounced, and finally a red triangle appeared on each cheek. Wolf lowered himself down on to all fours and snarled at the Anbu Captain.

"What the…are you an Inuzuka?"

"You guys are really misinformed. Haven't they ever let you out of Konoha? I'm not an Inuzuka, I'm a Kasaikou, though they say our clans are distant relatives." Wolf charged. "**Fire Style: Meteor Fang!**" Wolf hands and feet caught fire. Wolf leaped into the air and began spinning at high speeds. The last thing the Anbu Captain saw was a huge flaming comet.

"Geez, Wolf. Talk about over kill." Wolf stood over the Captain's body, breathing hard.

"I said I wasn't going to waste time." Wolf's features slowly reverted back to normal, the triangles only fading after everything else was back to normal.

"Well let's get…" A girl screamed.

"Kuroiaki!" Wolf yelled as they took off.

--

"This is it!" The Anbu yelled as she brought her sword down on Kuroiaki. There was a sudden blur of red chakra.

"**Rasengan!**" Rosuto shoved a swirling ball of chakra right into the Anbu's stomach. The Anbu attempted to resist by bracing herself with her back foot; it didn't last. She flew across the clearing and slammed into a tree, the armor around her stomach torn completely away.

"Kuroiaki!" Wolf yelled as he burst into the clearing followed by Kirdei. Wolf tackled her in a hug.

"That was awesome, Rosuto." Kirdei said as he patted him on the shoulder. Rosuto grinned sheepishly. "Hey now you two!" Kirdei yelled as he went to break Kuroiaki and Wolf apart.

--

"Rosuto, Kirdei spoke with me and Kuroiaki. Said you'd like to join Team Twilight." Wolf said grimly. "We don't accept new members…ever." Rosuto looked saddened. "But in light of recent events we're going to welcome you with open arms." Rosuto looked up at Wolf and grinned.

"Thanks guys. That means a lot to me." The Trio grinned at him. Nearby bushes began rustling and four Anbu emerged into the Camp.

"Naruto!" One of them called out. She tried to run at them but was restrained.

"Damn, we just can't catch a break with these guys." Kirdei said. "Well there's four of them looks like your helping this time." He said to Rosuto. Rosuto drew a kunai.

"Let's see what I can do."

--Author's notes--

I actually had to split this chapter into two pieces because the Twilight vs Root battle went on far longer than expected. Anyway I hope you enjoyed it!

Next Chapter(s)! Kirdei Vs. Neji. Wolf Vs. Shikamaru. Kuroiaki Vs. Sakura. Rosuto Vs. Ino. Battle Royale!


	9. Neji Vs Kirdei

It's finally here! After weeks (or week I haven't been counting) of waiting Chapter 8 is out. A showdown between Team Twilight and Team Neji!

Chapter 8: Neji vs. Kirdei

_Land of Lightning_

_"Thanks guys. That means a lot to me." The Trio grinned at him. Nearby bushes began rustling and four Anbu emerged into the Camp._

_"Naruto!" One of them called out. She tried to run at them but was restrained._

_"Damn, we just can't catch a break with these guys." Kirdei said. "Well there's four of them looks like your helping this time." He said to Rosuto. Rosuto drew a kunai._

_"Let's see what I can do."_

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura ripped her mask off. "Naruto it's me! Sakura!"

"Troublesome woman! We're on a mission! We aren't supposed to show our faces. Doesn't matter now I suppose," Shikamaru said. He removed his mask and faced his comrade. "Naruto, come on, it's time to go home." The black haired Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion. Neji and Ino followed suit and removed their masks.

"Come on knucklehead! Don't you wanna go get some Ichiraku?" Ino yelled. Naruto looked blankly at her.

"Naruto, we don't want to fight, but we need to get you back to Konoha." Neji said calmly.

"Heh, yeah right! You're with that last group! You can't fool us!" The tall blond standing next to Naruto yelled.

"And for the record his name is Rosuto Nagori." The shorter blond on the other side of Naruto yelled. Naruto whispered something to the group before facing them.

"Who are you and what do you know about me!" Naruto yelled, stunning them.

"I can answer that." The tall blond said.

"Wolf…" The girl said in a warning tone.

"No harm in letting Rosuto what we're up against. Right, Kirdei?" The shorter blond nodded. "Seems this is Konoha's most infamous ANBU Black Ops team. On the right we have Neji Hyuga, genius of Konoha's Hyuga Clan. They say his Byakugan out strips all other members, even of the main branch. Next we have Shikamaru Nara, the pineapple head. He's a master of battle field tactics and has nearly mastered his clan's shadow manipulation jutsu. Beside him is Sakura Haruno. She's likely the greatest medic-nin in the world, and the most dangerous. She could level a mountain with her fists alone. And finally we have Ino Yamanaka. She is second in command of their villages ANBU Torture and Interrogation Squad."

Naruto suddenly gripped his head and began stepping backwards as if he'd been hit by something. Sakura's eyes widened in panic and she tried to step forward but was restrained by Ino's hand.

"Go, Ino!" Neji suddenly shouted as he and Shikamaru flung Kunai at the girl and the two blondes, forcing them to dodge. Ino dashed towards Naruto while he was still distracted. When she got close enough she dived to tackle him, but when she was just inches away he flipped backwards, planted his feet on her stomach and flung her behind him.

'What the hell…' Ino thought as she flew through the air. Naruto landed on his feet and slowly looked at her with a bit of recognition for the first time since her squad arrived.

"Who…" he began.

"Rosuto! We've got to finish this up and get out of here before more of these guys show up. Think you can take her?" The shorter blond yelled. Naruto glanced at him then nodded. The recognition was suddenly replaced with fierce determination.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright Rosuto is all set. Now I want Kirdei to…" Wolf said.

"Dibs on the Hyuga." Kirdei said, interrupting.

"What? Oh, hell no! I get the Hyuga!"

"Bye!" Kirdei yelled as he took off towards Neji.

"Damn it!" Wolf muttered as he got up to give chase. Kuroiaki suddenly gripped his arm and shook her head.

"Wolf… leave it alone. You can have the other guy, I'll take the girl." Wolf walked toward Shikamaru, grumbling about some people getting to have all the fun.

"Looks like it's just you and me, pineapple head"

"Thank God. For a second there I thought I was going to get stuck fighting another troublesome girl." A kunai grazed his ear but he never even glanced in Kuroiaki's direction. "Well let's get this over. This is such a drag."

"Kick his ass, Wolf!" Kuroiaki yelled before rushing her own opponent.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Neji Hyuga Vs. Kirdei Tatsumaki_

"Bye!" Kirdei yelled as he ran off towards Neji. He had been looking forward to this fight ever since Neji and his group revealed themselves. After all, it wasn't often that two prodigies of the great dojutsu using clans met in battle.

"We don't wish to fight you. Give Naruto to us and we can part ways peacefully." Neji said calmly.

"Well I do wish to fight you, plus I have orders. Naruto isn't leaving with you." Neji's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean orders…?"

"I don't see any point in not telling you, after all Konoha already knows. It is the supreme order of the Akatsuki to capture all Jinchuriki. Naruto is one of 2 left standing between the Akatsuki and its goals." Neji's eyes twitched and the veins around his eyes became more pronounced.

"I see, in that case I must defeat you here and now. The Akatsuki must not be allowed to complete their plans." Neji moved into his fighting stance. "As it is, you stand in the range of my divination." Neji shifted slightly, changing into a slightly different stance. "I won't leave anything to chance, I will get you here and now. **Eight Trigrams…**" Kirdei quickly formed a hand sign.

"**Soshigan!**"

"**One Hundred ****Twenty-Eight Palms!**" Neji rushed forward and slammed his palms in to Kirdei's chest. "**Two Palms, Four Palms, Eight Palms, Sixteen Palms, Thirty-Two Palms, Sixty-Four Palms, One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!**" The force of Neji's attack flung Kirdei backward into a tree. Kirdei slowly slid down until he was sitting and coughed up blood.

"D-damn…" Kirdei muttered weakly.

"You're lucky to still be alive, but unfortunately you probably won't be moving for awhile. Excuse me; I have to complete my mission." Neji turned his back and began walking away. "Well that's interesting. You're the second person to stand after taking that attack full on." Neji turned around to see Kirdei standing and ready to fight. "The question is how..."

"My clan's …Kekkei Genkai…The Soshigan." Kirdei said while panting. "Your attacks were dead on, until I perceived them." Kirdei stood straight up and took a deep breath. "Then each attack was pushed off course enough to protect my tenketsu. Well there's no doubt in my mind that you truly are prodigy of the Hyuga clan. This generation was truly blessed. Not only did the three great dojutsu manifest themselves in their most powerful form this generation, but there also is a Rinnegan user. So much potential…" Kirdei's eyes averted. "None the less, The Akatsuki's orders must be obeyed." Kirdei glared straight into Neji's eyes for the first time. Kirdei's eyes were almost exact replicas of the Sharingan…but emerald green and full of determination.

"From what I've been told, the Rinnegan _is_ one of the three great dojutsu."

"Yeah well you're wrong, but that's a story for another time." Kirdei stood up and began performing hand signs. "For the sake of my friends, I have to win. **Wind Style: F0**** Tornado ****Jutsu!**" Clouds began gathering over head and the wind suddenly picked up. "Prepare to see why we're called the 'Tatsumaki' Clan."

Neji looked up at the violent storm that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It took quite a bit of power to change the weather. The clouds began swirling directly over Neji's head and decided it was time to move. A funnel cloud slowly began making its way to the ground as Neji rushed towards Kirdei.

"Eight Trigrams: Three Hundr…" Neji said as he began preparing his ultimate attack but was interrupted when Kirdei kicked him in the side of the head. Neji scowled as he flew through the air. 'He's fast.' All of a sudden Neji was pelted by rocks. Neji's eye widened as he realized that he had just flown through the tornado Kirdei had created. Neji hit the ground and rolled back to hit feet. The funnel cloud had touched the ground and began picking up loose pebbles and twigs and Neji had flown right through it.

"**Lightning Style: Static Palms**" Neji jerked out of the way of Kirdei's surprise attack but was grazed on the arm.

"Gahhh!" Neji felt a sudden jolt of blinding pain before his arm went numb. A quick glance let Neji know that he at least still had his arm. His attack was different from Sasuke and Kakashi's special moves. "What was that?" Neji said, grimacing at Kirdei's hands which were still crackling with electricity.

"Static Palms is a special brand of Jutsu that combines Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. It charged my hands with static electricity and when I grazed your arm it discharged. Your arm should be feeling pretty numb right now." Kirdei explained.

"You seem to be tiring out pretty quickly from using all those high level jutsus." Neji observed. Thankfully his Byakugan wasn't disrupted in the exchange and it was providing him with excellent information on his opponent. Kirdei was sweating profusely and he was breathing heavily. 'If I can hold out perhaps he'll collapse from chakra exhaustion.

"I'm just getting my second wind," Kirdei began executing hand signs, "**Wind Style: F1 Tornado Jutsu!**" Neji looked around with his Byakugan and noticed Kirdei's idling tornado suddenly expand as it grew in size, speed, and power. Neji had to act fast if he was going to defeat Kirdei. He closed his eyes and began pumping chakra towards his feet; he was going to have to improvise. Neji's eyes widened as Kirdei suddenly rushed Neji even faster than before. Even with his Byakugan he was having trouble keeping up with him.

That was when something caught his eye. The tornado, with all its power, was still idling away from the battle.

'Why would he not use that to his advantage…?' Neji thought as he continued dodging Kirdei's electrifying attacks. Neji suddenly had an idea. Kirdei planted a kick in Neji's stomach flinging him back towards the tornado…and exactly where he wanted to be. Neji rolled to his feet and ran straight into the tornado, using his chakra to keep it from picking him up. 'Please let this work.'

"**Eight Trigrams: Rotation!**" Neji began spinning and sending his chakra out. The effect was immediate. The tornado slowed immensely as Neji spun counter to its rotation. After mere seconds the tornado dissipated.

"What, Damn it!" Kirdei yelled. Neji slipped into his gentle fist stance, though with one arm hanging limp.

"**Eight Trigrams: Sixteen Palms!**" Neji rushed forward and behind Kirdei. "**One Palm. Two Palms. Four Palms. Eight Palms. Sixteen Palms!**" Kirdei stumbled forward and fell on his ass. Neji walked forward to deliver his finishing blow. "I'm sorry it's come to this." Neji reached back and aimed at Kirdei's heart…

"**Rasengan!**"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well here is part 1 of Team Neji vs. Team Twilight! Each fight occurs at exactly the same time so next chapter will start just after Kirdei runs off to fight Neji.

**Jutsu Dictionary**

Wind Style: F0 Tornado Jutsu- This jutsu create a very small tornado that is only capable of winds between 40 and 72 mph. Damage is usually minimal. It is the weakest tornado on the Fujita scale and serves as the opening move to Kirdei's Tornado series attacks. The tornado can be used as a weapon itself or, if left idle, enhances the creator's speed and stamina.

Wind Style: F1 Tornado Jutsu- Gives more speed and power to the F-0 Tornado. Size increases as a result. Gives creator a speed and stamina boost. Was disrupted by Neji's Eight Trigrams- Rotation, when Neji spun counter to the tornado's spin.

Lightning Style: Static Palms- Charges user's hands with static electricity allowing them to shock their opponent, effectively numbing where ever they strike.

Eight Trigrams: Sixteen Palms- An improvised but limited version of Neji's Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms. Neji created this while attempting to compensate for his numbed arm.

Eight Trigrams: Three Hund…- Eight Trigrams: Three Hundred Sixty-One Palms is quite possibly Neji's most devastating attack. It targets all 361 of a person's tenketsu. Interrupted when Kirdei kicked him while in 'Tornado Mode'.

Soshigan- Kirdei was able to keep track of Neji's attacks on his front while his Soshigan was activated. The Soshigan forced Kirdei's tenketsu to emit small barriers of chakra diverting the attacks, but not stopping, enough to keep the tenketsu from being blocked off. However when Neji used the Eight Trigrams: Sixteen Palms on his back the Soshigan was unable to register the attacks and thus unable to block them.


	10. Naruto Vs Ino Vs Kyubi

Surprise! 2 chapters in two days!

Here's chapter 9! I was surprised about last chapter. I didn't get a whole lot of reviews but I got favorites and alerts out the yin-yang. I'm glad everyone's enjoying the story and I'll do my best to keep your interest. Also if you guys notice any grammatical errors or missing word let me know. I know how annoying they can be and I can sometimes miss them while editing.

Last chapter Neji and Kirdei battled it out. Neji was just about to deliver a fatal attack to Kirdei when he was interrupted.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or the Bourne Identity

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Chapter 9: Naruto Vs Ino Vs Kyubi

_Naruto suddenly gripped his head and began stepping backwards as if he'd been hit by something. Sakura's eyes widened in panic and she tried to step forward but was restrained by Ino's hand._

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The faces of his new opponents began flashing through Rosuto's mind.

"_Sakura, I'm sorry." The pink haired kunoichi walked over to the window of the hospital room._

"_What are you apologizing for?" she replied as cheerfully as possible, "You know, it's really gorgeous outside. You should keep your curtains open." Sakura opened the curtains and gazed out._

"_Sakura…I meant what I said. It's the promise of a lifetime."_

"_It's ok Naruto. Just forget it."_

"_Sakura I never go back on my word, 'cause that's my nindo, my ninja way!" She turned towards him, slightly shocked. Then slowly, a smile appeared on her face._

"_Naruto..."_

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"_We have to go one-on-one. That's what we discussed."Neji Hyuga said._

"_Yeah… That's right."_

"_Besides if we all get stuck here, we won't be able to catch up to S…ke."The Hyuga turned towards Naruto. "Naruto…Sometimes your eyes are even better than my own."_

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"_Hey… You finally woke up," said Shikamaru Nara._

"_Where…am I…?"_

"_The Hospital! I heard you've been unconscious for three days."_

"…_Why am I here with you…Where's the Pervy Sage?"_

"_Huh? How should I know?" replied Shikamaru, "I mean…I'm here to visit Ch.j., even though it's a total drag… When I heard you got laid out too, I poked my head in."_

"_What?! He got hurt that bad?"_

"_Not quite…" Shikamaru said with a grin, "After his match, Ch.j. ate too much barbeque and got a severe case of indigestion."_

"_Ha ha ha! That's so like Ch.j.!"_

"_You two aren't the type to get female visitors so…Oh right!" Shikamaru hefted a basket on to the bed. "It's a huge pain…I brought this basket for Ch.j. but he's not allowed to have it. Doctor's orders. So let's eat it ourselves."_

"_Man! You're a pretty good guy!"_

"_Shut up! It would just be a shame to let it go to waste." Naruto began giggling. "Huh? What?"_

"_Hee hee hee. Just for fun, why don't we go eat it in front of Ch.j.!"_

"_Man. That's evil. Let's do it."_

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"_Naruto! You're such an idiot!" The blond-haired, blue-eyes Ino Yamanaka yelled._

"_I-I'm sorry Ino." Ino sighed._

"_Look…let's just get these herbs to Lady Hokage. She'll be needing them for that medicine she's working on."_

"_Actually we'll be taking those herbs for ourselves!" Two ninja appeared in a puff of smoke. "We the great Moya Brothers of Kemurigakure cannot be stopped!" The leader suddenly realized that the pair was already a good way away from them._

"_So, Ino, How about we go get Ichiraku ramen to celebrate a job well done?"_

"_Do they have diet ramen?"_

"_I think so…"_

"_Fine, but only if you're paying."_

"_Yeah, yeah. I learned that well enough from Sakura."_

"_Hey!!!!" The three brothers yelled at the pair of blonds._

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Rosuto suddenly looked up and realize Ino was attempting to tackle him. He did a back flip, planted his feet on her stomach, and flung her backwards. Rosuto turned to look at the familiar girl.

"Who…" Rosuto began.

"Rosuto! We've got to finish up and get out of here before more of these guys show up. Think you can take her?" Kirdei yelled. Rosuto glanced at Ino, then at Kirdei, before nodding. Rosuto looked at Ino with a face full of determination.

'What have I done to make these guys my enemies?' Rosuto thought.

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_Rosuto Nagori Vs. Ino Yamanaka_

Ino rubbed the back of her head as she slowly stood. She absolutely hated fighting in forests. True, she was from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, but they made it hard to hit enemies with her family's jutsus and if she ever got hit hard enough she always managed to hit a tree.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!**" Naruto yelled. Four clones plus the original began rushing Ino.

Ino grinned. She'd sparred often enough with his shadow clones. Shortly after he returned from saving Gaara, Naruto and Shikamaru began hanging out more during their spare time. He said that watching the clouds allowed him to forget the failures that hung heavily over his head. One thing led to another and he had conned her into sparring with him every so often.

Ino ran forward and did a handstand towards the closest Naruto. She grabbed his head with her feet and flung him up into the branches, causing him to poof out of existence. She gracefully swept the legs out from under another clone and axe kicked it in the chest, dispelling it as well. Her hands made a quick stop at the kunai pouch on her thigh and the last two clones vanished as her kunai tore through them. The real Naruto scowled at her.

"Come on, Naruto. We've sparred enough for me to know how to counter your clones. Now please just come back with us peacefully."

"I'm not exactly sure who you are, but I know sure as hell that I'm not going with you guys! Another group of your friends tried to kill me and my comrades not too long ago!" Naruto said fiercely. Ino didn't even get a chance to look confused as Naruto reached down and chucked one of her own kunai straight at her face.

'What the hell!' She thought as she dodged out of the way. Now she was getting angry. Not only did he act like they didn't know each other but he had the gall to use her kunai…

'Wait a minute…' Ino realized a very grim possibility. Without a second thought Ino rushed forward and gripped Naruto's forehead with her left hand while performing hand signs with her right. Naruto, surprised by her sudden attack jerked backwards. However, Ino kept a strong hold on him as she executed her jutsu.

"**Ninja Art: Mind Insertion Jutsu!**" The world around Ino filled with darkness.

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_Naruto's Mindscape_

Ino yanked hard on a rope, tightly binding Naruto's mental projection. She had even managed to gag him. As she looked over her work, she pondered at what she saw. She knew that the real Naruto had dyed his hair black but she was sure his mental projection would have his natural blond hair.

'Then again if I'm right…' she shook her head. She needed to get moving before Naruto broke loose and cast her from his mindscape. Naruto began rolling around on the ground, clearly frustrated.

"Sorry, Naruto… Man! What a dump!" Ino said as she walked away from Naruto. "I knew that Naruto wasn't the sharpest spoon in the drawer but a sewer?" She said before laughing at her own little joke.

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Ino had been exploring Naruto's mindscape for what seemed like hours and hadn't found a thing. Of course not even a second had passed in real life but that was how she had designed this jutsu. She turned down the hundredth corridor she'd been through and gasped at what she saw…

'Keys…lots and lots of keys…'

"What a freak." She said ignoring the oddity of the strange ninja's mind. Not five steps down the corridor, however and she came upon what she had been looking for.

Hundreds of doors lined up starting from his earliest memory all the way to the second she had used her jutsu. Or so she assumed. She checked the first door for traps before attempting to open it. She jiggled the handle for a second before realizing it was locked. Shrugging, she continued to the next door. Once again it was locked.

"What the hell." She muttered. She began running down the hallway checking each door she passed and getting the same result. Every memory he had was somehow locked away. Her eyes widened and she snapped her fingers.

"The keys!" She dashed back towards the keys and groaned when she reached them. There were hundreds of keys in the pile and many of them looked damaged. She bent down to pick one up when she saw a trail of red mist appear. Curiosity getting the best of her she took off following the mist.

When she reached the end of the trail she was surprised at what she saw. A giant cage with a single piece of paper keeping it closed. "The Kyubi's cage…" she said with awe. She followed the mist all the way to the bars of the cage and peered inside. All she could see was pure blackness. "Hello?" She called.

Ino was forced to leap back as claws crashed between the bars of the cage. "_**Hehehe. That never gets old.**_" Ino forced herself not to tremble as she looked up at the giant eye in the cage. She could hardly believe it. Here she was, in Naruto's mindscape, before the greatest of the tailed beasts. And she didn't have either of their permissions.

"_**Hello, Yamanaka. Why don't you come closer to the cage so I can get a better look at you?**_"

Ino fought hard not to snort. She wasn't sure what the Nine-tailed fox could still do locked behind those bars. "I'm fine right here Kyubi-sama." She said politely.

"_**No need to be scared, little girl.**_"

That time she did snort. "Who's scared!" she yelled while shaking her fist. "Damn fox!"

"_**Hahaha! Well you are quite the gutsy little one. Everyone who comes here seems that way. Keeps me entertained anyway.**_" Ino suddenly realized just who she was shaking her hand at. "_**Now, why have you come here, Yamanaka?**_"

"I…uh…I wanted to know why Naruto doesn't recognize me or any of his other friends."

"_**Simple. He's lost his memory. I just haven't seen fit to restore it yet. Though he's doing quite well on his own. He remembers you all somewhat but he is confused and so has latched on to that other group.**_" Ino frowned in thought. Near the cage, the water began bubbling and turning red. "_**Oh well, it's not longer your concern.**_" Ino glanced up. The water had formed the Fox's head and it was getting ready to pounce. The fox snarled and his chakra rushed forward to swallow Ino whole.

Ino grinned. Bars shot up out of the floor and caged the Fox's chakra. The Fox narrowed its gaze at Ino. "_**YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT CAN HOLD ME?! RAWR!!!!!**_" The chakra slipped out of the cage and rushed Ino. More bars shot out of the ground forming another cage for the Fox.

"Sorry to disappoint you Fox but I wanted you to know that I'm in control here. The mind is the Playground of the Yamanaka's. Your entire existence is in this plane so you are under my power." Electricity shot through the bars of the cage. The Fox howled in pain behind the cage with the seal on it.

"_**YOUR…CLAN…WILL…BE…THE FIRST…I EAT…WHEN I ESCAPE…GRRAAAA**_"

Naruto barged in the room fuming. "I am sick and tired of people other than me wandering around my mind!" Naruto rushed forward and punched Ino in the face.

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Ino was flung back as the connection between hers and Naruto's minds broke. Ino slumped to the ground and stayed there. Who knew Naruto could pack such a mental punch…

Naruto shook his head and pulled out a Kunai. He got ready to throw it when something caught his eye. His eyes widened. Neji was about to deliver a killing strike to a partially conscious blond.

"KIRDEI!" He yelled as a clone appeared next to him. A glowing ball of blue chakra appeared in his hand before the clone disappeared. Naruto rushed forward and leapt into the air.

"**Rasengan!**"

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Character Profiles-

Team Twilight

Kirdei Tatsumaki-

Age: 18

Height: 5'11"

Eye: Ice Blue

Hair: Blond

Affinity: Wind, Lightning (All due to Soshigan)

Bio: Born to the Tatsumaki Clan of Hakumeigakure, Kirdei grew to be the prodigy of the clan. It was said his potential far out stripped the clan. At a young age the Soshigan manifested itself in him giving him access to the five basic elements of Ninjutsu; Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Lightning. At that point he began making a name for himself as a Shinobi. However at age 10, Orochimaru attacked and destroyed Hakumeigakure. His entire clan was likely wiped out resisting Orochimaru's attempts at capturing them. He was one of three survivors of the attack along with Wolf Kasaikou and Kuroiaki Mizuhime. Three days after the attack, The trio were picked up by Akatsuki member Tobi, which Kirdei is now reluctantly a member of.

Wolf Kasaikou-

Age: 18

Height: 6'1"

Eyes: Gray

Hair: Blond

Affinity: Fire

Bio: Born to the Kasaikou Clan of Hakumeigakure, Wolf was an up and coming member of his clan. He quickly mastered his clan's jutsu and once picked up by the Akatsuki, he became obsessed with Genjutsu. This might have been because he was looking for ways to fill the void created by the death of his clan. He began to look up to the indifferent Itachi who agreed totrain him in Genjutsu. He hopes to become a full Akatsuki member with his friend Kirdei Tatsumaki and his girlfriend, Kuroiaki Mizuhime. He is the leader of Team Twilight.

Kuroiaki Mizuhime-

Age: 19

Height: 5'3"

Eyes: Hazel

Hair: Light Brown

Affinity: Water

Bio: Born to unknown parents in Hakumeigakure, she was quickly picked up by the Shinobi community and trained in the Shinobi arts. She developed medical ninjutsu when it was discovered that she had a high level of chakra control. After the destruction of Hakumeigakure, Wolf, Kirdei, and Kuroiaki became extremely close, though She and Wolf took it a step farther, becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. She is indifferent to the Akatsuki. She is perfectly happy as long as she is with her boyfriend and surrogate brother. She is also the brains behind the group, often times keeping Wolf and Kirdei from getting themselves killed.

Rosuto Nagori-

Age?

Hair: Black (Blond)

Height: 5'10"

Eyes: Blue

Affinity: Wind

Bio: Rosuto Nagori was discovered floating in the ocean by Doctor Tsuki Iyaku. When he woke, he was an amnesiac. Weeks of therapy proved him to be a shinobi and a container of the nine-tailed fox. A botched theraputic mission, put him on the run with Team Twilight. After saving Kuroiaki during an attack by an Anbu Roots team, he was introducted in to Team Twilight. Unknown to him, however, they are planning on bringing him to Amegakure and the Akatsuki so the Nine-tailed fox can be removed. A recent battle with Team Neji revealed him to be Naruto Uzumaki. He isn't sure why Konoha wants to attack him though.


	11. Wolf Vs Shikamaru

I proudly present chapter 10! I hope you guys enjoyed the little bonus stuff I added at the end of the last chapter and thanks for the reviews, they keep this story going!

Also there might be minor language in this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill. I don't own Naruto or The Borne Identity

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_Chapter 10- Wolf Kasaikou vs. Shikamaru Nara_

"Looks like it's just you and me, pineapple head"

"Thank God. For a second there I thought I was going to get stuck fighting another troublesome girl." A kunai grazed his ear but he never even glanced in Kuroiaki's direction. "Well let's get this over. This is such a drag."

"Kick his ass, Wolf!" Kuroiaki yelled before rushing her own opponent.

"Tell you what; this whole thing is troublesome, so why don't you just let us take Naruto and you guys can go on your way?" Shikamaru said.

"You think we'd give him up that easily?" Wolf countered. Shikamaru was about to say something when he stopped and listened.

"So, you guys are part of the Akatsuki? Well I'll have to take this more seriously." Shikamaru straightened up and pulled out a pair of trench knives.

"Damn, cat's outta the bag now, huh? And to be precise, we just work for them but if this little mission goes well…who knows? Maybe I'll get myself one of those stylish cloaks." Wolf said with a grin.

Shikamaru lowered his head and began shaking, but when he finally looked at Wolf; his eyes were blazing with a determination unlike any other. "You bastards took out Asuma-sensei… for that I'll make sure everyone of you will pay."

Wolf suddenly jumped back. He had expected the pineapple head to rush forward recklessly to avenge this sensei that had apparently been defeated by the Akatsuki, what he hadn't expected was for his shadow to be his first attack. 'I'll have to thank Lord Itachi for that bingo book…' A second later and it would have been the end of Wolf.

"So you noticed, huh? Doesn't matter, you're going to lose just the same." Shikamaru spat. Shikamaru rush Wolf and as he did so did his shadow. While he was focused on Shikamaru's shadow he completely forgot about the person controlling it. "Grrraah!" Shikamaru grunted as he attempted to slice Wolf's jugular. Once again Wolf's reflexes saved him as he jerked back and out of danger.

"You're a pretty good tactician, but you still missed. You're going to have to do better than that if you plan…" Wolf suddenly howled and gripped his face. A huge gash appeared across the bridge of his nose and was gushing blood. "But…it was a clean miss!" Wolf whined.

"Look again, Puppy. These blades were my sensei's, built to channel chakra." Wolf noticed the faint glow of chakra extending from the blades, but no longer cared. He was furious.

"Don't…ever…call… me…puppy." Wolf snarled as he began performing hand signs. "**Ninja Art: Wolven Form!**" Wolf's body quickly changed into his wolf form. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"Related to the Inuzukas?" Shikamaru asked casually.

"Maybe," Wolf snarled and began forming more hand signs, "**Fire Style: Burning Tornado Kick!**" Wolf rushed forward as his leg bursts into flames. When he got within range, Wolf jumped, spun, and delivered a devastating kick to Shikamaru's face. As he fell, Shikamaru screamed and burst into flames.

Wolf howled in victory as he watched his enemy burn. He released his jutsu and began to dust himself off. "Devastating taijutsu meets explosive ninjutsu. Instant K.O. every time."

"Yeah, maybe we could roast marshmallows?" Wolf turned his head and was met with blinding pineapple shaped pain. Wolf cursed loudly as he stumbled in the direction he was hit; blood trickling from his mouth.

"S-substitution…academy technique yet so damn effective…" Wolf muttered.

"Yeah, I'm not finished yet though," Shikamaru formed hand signs, "**Shuriken Shadow Imitation Jutsu!**" Shikamaru deftly slipped his fingers out of the blades and hurled them at Wolf. "Success."

"Your aim sucks…what the hell! What did you do to me?!" Wolf snarled as his body locked up.

"One of my specialties. I'm a shadow user, as I'm sure you're well aware. I'm using the blade to pin your shadow to the ground." Shikamaru said casually.

"You're starting to piss me off!" Wolf snarled as he struggled against Shikamaru's jutsu. Shikamaru slowly began walking towards his opponent.

"I hope you've had time to say your goodbyes. I'm not going to let you get away. You will pay for Asuma-sensei's death." Wolf began trembling. "Pathetic, you claim to be a shinobi but you can't even look death in the eyes. Be a man about it."

"I'm not facing death pineapple-head, you are." Wolf roared and the blade pinning him down shot out of the ground. Wolf charged forward while pulling out a kunai. Shikamaru backed into a tree in surprise as Wolf charged forward. "A good shinobi uses the environment to his advantage!" Wolf yelled as he swept the blade down at Shikamaru's heart. Shikamaru gasped before sinking back, then into the tree.

Wolf's blade pierced wood just as he heard the faint whisper, "**Ninja Art: Shadow Walker Jutsu.**"

"He got away…" Wolf mumbled.

"Not quite." Suddenly a shuriken flew out of the shadows nearly piercing Wolf thigh. 'Damn…That jutsu is so exhausting.' Shikamaru thought from the shadows of a tree.

"Enough wasting time," Wolf shouted before performing a set of seals, "**Ninja Art:** **Summoning Jutsu!**"

Wolf bit his thumb and slammed his palm down on to the ground. A howl rang out as a pitch black wolf appeared next to Wolf. "Kaosu, find him and drag his ass out here." Kaosu growled in response before taking off.

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'I won't be able to hide from that nose, better if I take him head on,' thought Shikamaru as he made his own hand signs. "**Summoning Jutsu: Graceful Distraction!**" A deer appeared in front of Shikamaru and bowed its head. "Here take this and go, don't take chances," Shikamaru took off his vest and draped it over the deer, "If you're about to get caught…" The deer nodded and left.

Kaosu skidded to a stop and sniffed the air. 'His scent has split off…' he thought, 'One's stationary and the other...' Kaosu noticed a blur of green in the trees. 'Got him.'

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Kaosu walked out of a patch of shadows towards Wolf. "Now that's what I call a good game of fetch."

In Kaosu's mouth was the bloodied form of Shikamaru. Wolf walked over and jerked Shikamaru's head up to look him in the face. "What happened to avenging your precious sensei? I'll tell you what happened. You threatened the members of the Akatsuki. Just as he was important to you, they are important to me. I was protecting the only semblance of family I have left. That was your downfall."

Wolf whipped out a kunai and prepared to strike. Kaosu suddenly bit Wolf's hand and caused him to jerk back. "What the hell, Kaosu?!" Shikamaru exploded into a cloud of smoke as did Kaosu. When the smoke finally cleared a deer with a Leaf headband was glaring at him.

"**Ninja Art: Shadow Sewing.**" A gout of blood erupted from Wolf's side as shadow pierced him.

"Gyaa!" Wolf collapsed to the ground.

"Actually, truth be told, I've gotten over Asuma's death. I also decided that I wasn't going to follow the path of revenge, like an old comrade did." Shikamaru said as he scratched the back of his head, "I figured you would try to use it against me but it doesn't matter at this point. It's over, we're going to take you back to Konoha and hand you over to ANBU. They'll be glad to see meet you." Wolf pushed himself to his feet.

"Like hell. We'll just have to see who's will to win is stronger. Ninja Art: Final Showdown." Wolf said as he performed a set of hand signs.

A strong breeze suddenly kicked up, catching Wolf's attention. A tornado that wolf hadn't noticed before was swirling near Kirdei and Neji's battle. The tornado had suddenly picked up speed and strength. "Well I still can't get a hang of genjutsu but the battle just swung in my favor."

"Huh? What are you talking about? You're going to bleed out if you don't give up." Wolf looked at his side.

"Maybe but I'll sure as hell take you with me!" Wolf formed sever hand signs before rushing forward. "**Fire Style: Meteor Fist!**" Wolf fist burst into flames as he swung it at Shikamaru's side.

Shikamaru had been caught flatfooted for the first time in a long time. Wolf's fist connected solidly with his side and an explosion erupted flinging him backwards. When he opened his eyes again his side was bleeding at least as badly as Wolf's and Wolf had a Kunai to his throat.

"It's over." Wolf muttered weakly before he felt cold steel press against his own throat.

"**Ninja Art: ****Shadow Sewing.** It's not over till the last shinobi bleeds."

"Looks like we both lose." Wolf muttered weakly before collapsing.

"WOLF!" The group's kunoichi shouted as he did. Shikamaru was about to strike out at her but he noticed a particularly interesting cloud in the sky. The world faded to black and the last thing he heard was Naruto's obnoxious voice.

"**Rasengan!**"

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And there you have it, Chapter 10! Next chapter will end the Team Twilight vs. Team Neji Arc. Will the experienced Team Neji be able to rescue Naruto? Or will the younger but powerful Team Twilight bring the Akatsuki's plan one step closer to completion?

Well this was a pretty tough chapter but I think it came out alright. Please read and review!


	12. Final Showdown: Sakura Vs Kuroiaki

Well here's chapter 11 and the final chapter of the Team Twilight vs. Team Neji Arc! It's really amazing how this story has unfolded. I kind of expected it to follow the Bourne Identity more closely but it really took on a life of its own. Anyway special thanks to those who have posted reviews, I really appreciate it, your reviews power my creative writing…and I kinda want to know how it ends as well.

Scores

Team Twilight: 1

Team Neji: 1

Draws: 1

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_Chapter 11: __Final Showdown: Sakura Vs. Kuroiaki_

"Kick his ass, Wolf!" Kuroiaki yelled as she rushed Sakura.

Kuroiaki had to bite back her fear though. She was about to face an opponent unlike anything she'd faced before. This was _the_ Sakura of Konoha. Tsunade's legendary apprentice was well known as a possible threat after she took down Sasori. Now she was fighting to save the life of a friend, where as she was only following orders. Odds were not in her favor.

Even as she rushed forward she could feel the determination rolling off in waves from the pink-haired kunoichi. It was then, seconds before she struck that she realized she was about to make a fatal mistake.

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_Bingo Book_

_Subject: Sakura Haruno_

_Age: 20_

_Bio: Student of the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade. She is best know__n__ for __inheriting__ Tsunade's skill in medical jutsu and __her chakra enhanced strength…_

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Kuroiaki skidded to a halt ten feet in front of Sakura. As she did a grin played across her face. "Remember something?" She said softly. Sakura lifted a fist and gave her glove a tug. "The thing is you don't need to be within arm's reach for me to hit you!" Sakura brought her fist down on the ground. Kuroiaki's face scrunched up in confusion.

'Surely she doesn't think she can…' Kuroiaki thought before the ground around her exploded. She barely reacted quick enough to avoid falling in the cracks in the ground and was still pelted by gravel. 'Yeah, she thought she could... thought it right into existence.' Kuroiaki kneeled as she landed and quickly checked for injuries. She was bleeding from a few spots but nothing too bad, 'No need to waste chakra.'

"Why don't you guys just give me back Naruto and we can go our separate ways." Sakura offered, though she knew there was no chance of that happening. A quick glance showed her teammates already in their own battles after, no doubt, offering the same thing.

"I can't. The lives of my team depend on it." Kuroiaki answered. Her own word gave her strength, but still, how the hell was she going to fight someone like that? Kuroiaki wasn't trained for long range or even close range combat. Sure she knew enough to keep her alive but her real specialties lay with medical jutsu and genjutsu. Was she really going to have to use her trump card already?

"Focus!" Sakura screamed as she launched a second attack. Mere instinct saved her this time as Sakura's fist grazed her ear. Kuroiaki was flung backwards into and through a tree. When she rolled to a stop she began spitting curses. Her ear was bleeding severely and from just being grazed! Kuroiaki rose to her feet and began performing hand signs. It was time to put her bloodline limit to use.

"**Ninja Art: Earth Guardian Jutsu!**" Kuroiaki screamed as she slammed her palms on the ground. A giant head made of pure stone began rising out of the ground. Kuroiaki would only have a few minutes at best, her guardian jutsu was just as hard as the ground beneath and Sakura had proved that stone was no match for her fists.

The guardian stood at a full twelve feet when it finally pulled itself out of the ground. Kuroiaki only hoped it would be enough to distract her opponent while she set up for her next jutsu. The best guardian to use against Sakura would be water, which meant she would have to expend chakra to create water then re-perform her clans exhausting jutsu. She was going to be very low on chakra if she needed to perform any medical jutsu.

"**Attack!**" Kuroiaki commanded.

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Sakura thought she was going to have an easy time of it. The girl had summoned some giant stone thing to defend her. She should have been able to demolish the thing in one quick blow. She should have been faster than it could ever be. She should have been paying more attention.

Instead she was flying backwards with what felt like a bloody nose from where the guardian had rushed her with insane speed and punched her in the face. Thankfully she had minimized the blow and flipped backwards, gracefully landing on her feet.

She checked her face with her hands and with a careless swipe of green glowing hands healed the damage done to her face. "Your guardian isn't that strong, is he?" she said with a smirk. The girl just glared and began performing hand signs. It was only a flicker, but Sakura was sure she saw awe at her skill.

Sakura turned to face the guardian. That was problem number one. It was deceptively fast and made out of solid stone, but a good solid punch could put the thing down. Sakura ran towards the guardian which drew back its fist to deliver another crushing blow. The thing slammed its fist down on the ground where Sakura had been.

A sudden blur of motion and Sakura appeared on the guardian's arm running towards the head. When she reached the shoulder, she jumped in the air and axe kicked the head, effectively smashed it in half. It was too little, too late though.

"**Ninja Art: ****Nightmare Jutsu!**" The world went dark for a second. She realized it for what it was in an instant. Genjutsu.

She blinked and suddenly she was much smaller. Light red hair hung in her face…and she was afraid. She was crouched in a corner of a crumbling building, trembling. Everyone was dead and she was certain she was next. She peaked around the corner and saw blood spattered everywhere. In the middle of an especially big pool was a Jonin who had taken care of her for a few years.

'No! This is an illusion! Nothing more!'

A man with too pale skin, yellow eyes and purple make-up on his eye lids snickered as he strode by the Jonin. Sakura gasped as the man looked directly at her. She suddenly ducked around the corner and hugged her knees. Tears began flowing down her cheeks.

'No, no, no, no, no, no, no!' The real Sakura recognized the man in the illusion.

Orochimaru.

Sakura heard a hissing noise above her. She looked up and saw a massive snake hanging off of a beam that had pierced the wall. Sakura began shaking as the snake lowered itself towards her. It lifted its head as it prepared to strike when a kunai pierced its head.

A man wearing a black cloak with red clouds stepped out of the shadows. He lifted the straw hat that hid his face and looked at her with the terrifying crimson eyes of the Uchiha.

Sakura screamed as she broke through the genjutsu. This girl had seen and survived two of the most dangerous people to ever come out of the Leaf village.

"Wolf!" The girl she had been fighting screamed. The blond leader of the enemy group suddenly collapsed next to a partially conscious Shikamaru. Both were bleeding heavily.

"**Rasengan!**" Sakura looked up into the air and saw Naruto flying straight for Neji's turned back. Neji spun around and took the Rasengan in his good arm. However, knowing better Neji didn't resist and was flung well away from Kirdei.

Kuroiaki rushed over and slung Wolf's arm over her shoulders. "Naruto! Grab Kirdei and let's go!" She yelled, assuming command. Naruto replied by picking Kirdei up and running.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled.

"S-Sakura, don't chase after them." Shikamaru muttered as he pushed himself to their feet. "We need you here, right now." Sakura looked longingly at the place Naruto disappeared.

"Yeah, I know. Ino!" Ino shook her head while sitting up.

"What is it, Forehead?"

"Get your ass into gear Neji and Shikamaru need our help!" Ino's eyes widened and she wobbled over to Sakura. "Go check on Neji, while I heal Shikamaru." Ino stared at her for a second. "Look I know you two were teammates but he's bleeding badly. I'm a medical specialist, I have a better chance of saving him now go!" Ino was stunned but obeyed. Seeing Naruto must have awakened something within her; she hadn't acted that in control since Naruto had left.

"That's what I like to hear." Shikamaru muttered weakly. "You're more like your old self."

"Please, Shika. Save your energy."

"No, listen. We need to report back to Tsunade. As we are now we have no chance of rescuing Naruto. We need to hurry though. Those guys were Akatsuki." Sakura's eyes widened as she remembered the horrible crimson eyes she'd stared into not minutes ago.

"Alright." Sakura redoubled her efforts. She was _not_ going to lose Naruto to those bastards.

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Kuroiaki carefully set Wolf down. She found a safe place to stop as soon as she was sure they weren't being followed. Naruto laid Kirdei down far enough to give Kuroiaki room to work.

"Naruto, do you know first aid?" Naruto looked at her confused, before nodding. Kuroiaki bit her lip. "I need you to stop Wolf's bleeding while I check Kirdei out. The Neji guy uses gentle fists to attack a person's insides." Naruto nodded and began working on Wolf.

Kuroiaki kneeled next to Kirdei. His shirt was torn open in the front and his hand was covering his stomach. Kuroiaki carefully removed his hand and gasped. A circle of seals was painted on his stomach in black ink, or perhaps tattooed. What made her gasp was what was in the center. The kanji for fire was partially drawn in fresh blood.

"Y-you…moron! You…y-you idiot!" Kuroiaki stuttered. Tears began flowing down her cheeks. She didn't know anything about seals, but she recognized that one. It was Kirdei's '**Final Flames**' seal. She knows because she walked in on him when he created it.

_Amegakure_

_Kirdei had shut himself up in his room for the past week and Kuroiaki was sick of it. She understood that he sometimes worked on important seals in his studies but st__ill this was a little too much._

_Kuroiaki knocked on his door softly at first. "Kirdei? You alive?" When no answer came she knocked harder. "Kirdei?" He muttered a reply before it went quiet again. Frustrated, she finally decided to kick in his door. __Kirdei was face down on his bed in a puddle of his own drool._

_"Eww." Kuroiaki said as she walked over to his desk. "What could be so damn important that you'd lock yourself away for a whole week?" She began reading his notes. She nearly strangled Kirdei then and there. According to the notes, the seal he was working on converts the body of the user into pure chakra. The chakra then ignites into an explosion of flames._

_Kuroiaki knew enough about chakra to understand that much. There was power in that kind of sacrifice. Anyone who knew anything about summoning could tell you blood had power when sacrificed. But to convert you entire body to chakra… it was the ultimate suicide technique._

_Kuroiaki moved over to Kirdei bed and began pummeling the unconscious Kirdei. _

_He woke up in the hospital the next week to a fuming Kuroiaki and Wolf._

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"How could you?" she stammered out. Kirdei peered up at her.

"S-sorry, thought it was over for me." He began coughing up blood. "Wasn't…wasn't going down…without a fight." Kuroiaki resisted the urge to beat the hell out of him and ran a diagnostics jutsu.

"You and Wolf are all I have. Never, ever think about using that seal again." Kirdei grinned weakly before passing out. Kuroiaki quietly began healing his injuries. It could have been a lot worse. She pulled out a canteen and poured a little water on the cloth and rubbed the blood kanji off his chest. When she was satisfied that her surrogate brother was fine she place a kiss on his head and ruffled his hair. "You idiot." She whispered before going over to her love.

Naruto had done a decent job all things considered. "Naruto, go keep an eye on Kirdei. I'll take care of Wolf from here.

"Alright." Naruto whispered sadly as he walked towards Kirdei.

"Hey, how you feeling?" Kuroiaki whispered to Wolf.

"Like I was hit by a boulder." Wolf said. Kuroiaki's hands began glowing green as she pressed them to his wound.

"Or maybe a pineapple?" She joked.

"Shut up." He said with a laugh.

"Where does it hurt?" She asked. Wolf pointed to a spot on his chest and Kuroiaki placed a kiss there. Wolf pointed to another spot and Kuroiaki placed a kiss there as well. Before Wolf could point to another spot she placed a kiss on his lips.

"I like this game." Wolf said with a smirk.

"A life and death battle makes you appreciate what you've got." Kuroiaki said and she finished healing Wolf's major wounds.

"You can say that again." Wolf said as Kuroiaki snuggled up in his arms.

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Kirdei was feeling another pang of guilt as Naruto walked towards him. The very guy he was about to turn over to be killed had saved his life twice now. He saved Wolf once and Kuroiaki twice as well.

'Damn it…'

"You were pretty amazing back there, Naruto. You saved my life again." Naruto nodded.

"Naruto, huh? It sounds right. And that's what they called me. Those Anbu, I mean." Kirdei nodded. "I knew them. In my past life. I guess that means I'm from Konohagakure, but why did they attack us is what I want to know."

"I'm not sure. I wouldn't worry too much though. You seem to be remembering a lot. Give it time and I'm sure it will come to you."

"Yeah."

"Hey, remember what I said. We're comrades. I got your back." Kirdei said. Naruto grinned wildly. "Let's get some sleep. It's going to be a long day tomorrow. Besides, those two are going to be distracted for awhile it seems." Kirdei pushed himself to his feet. "Let's give them some privacy."

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Wow! That turned out to be fluffy at the end. Well anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter! That was the end of the Team Twilight vs. Team Neji arc.

Team Twilight and Team Neji fought out to a stalemate and now both teams are limping away from the battle. Unfortunately this counts as a victory in the Akatsuki's favor as Team Twilight is free to move on towards their goal. But what's this? Kirdei is feeling regret? Will he voice these feelings to his team? Or will he keep his mouth shut and continue on with their plan? And if he does voice his opinion, how will the other members of Team Twilight react?

All this and more will be revealed…eventually. Hahahahaha!

**Jutsu Dictionary**

**Ninja Art: Earth Guardian Jutsu****-** The bloodline limit of Kuroiaki's mysterious clan. This jutsu allows her to create a guardian of stone to act as a defender. This is particularly helpful when she's fulfilling her role as medic though it takes a great deal of chakra. This jutsu also come in water, fire, and wind but a steady supply of each element is required to create the guardian and each guardian takes a different amount of chakra.

**Ninja Art: Nightmare Jutsu-** A genjutsu that is particularly effective against many ninja. Kuroiaki developed it to be one of her trump cards. It takes a memory from Kuroiaki's past and forces the target to experience what she experienced until the person can break the jutsu. Ninja who have always repressed or have never experienced emotions can be torn up mentally and put out of commission if it isn't countered quickly enough.

**Final Flames Seal-** A seal developed by Kirdei Tatsumaki. The seal, when activated, transforms the user's body into chakra and uses that chakra to create a massive explosion, in theory. The amount of chakra created from the transformed flesh is massive and could create untold amounts of damage. This seal kills the user to create the desired effects and so is Kirdei's last ditch jutsu. To ensure he'll always have time to activate it, he has most of the seal inscribed on his chest. All that's needed to activate the seal is the kanji for fire to be inscribed in the center and for Kirdei to activate it.


	13. Preparations

Author's Notes

Chapter twelve is finally here! Geez I'm embarrassed. I never meant for it to take this long for a new chapter to come out, so please forgive me! Many thanks go out to those who have reviewed or added this story to their various alerts!

Team Neji and Team Twilight battled to a stalemate in the previous chapters and Team Neji has been forced to withdraw. Team Twilight continues to move toward The Land of Earth and their ultimate goal, Amegakure. Naruto has finally recalled his name and several memories from his past life, but will it be enough to save himself from the Akatsuki's plot? Or will he fall like so many jinchuriki before him?

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto or the Bourne Identity.

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_Chapter 12: __Preparations_

_Konohagakure_

"Captain, Report!" Tsunade commanded as Neji limped into the room with his team. Sakura had managed to patch up the life threatening damage so they would give their report before heading to the hospital. Neji nodded as he removed his mask.

"Mission Failure." Neji stated. Tsunade jumped to her feet.

"Explain now, Captain!" Tsunade yelled as she restrained herself.

"We picked up Naruto Uzumaki's trail in the Village of Chiri in the Land of Lightning. We discovered that he had been staying with the village's doctor, Tsuki Iyaku, and that they had left for Kumogakure. En route to Kumo we encountered the doctor. After explaining the situation to him he told us where to find Naruto along with a team the doctor had hired to protect Naruto." Neji explained as Sakura cringed behind her mask. She had actually taken off in desperation and because of that it took them longer than expected to find them.

"While tracking him, we found a group of Root Anbu soldiers, dead, in the forest. Due to the swirling burn marks on one of the members we guessed that Naruto had likely engaged them in battle. When we finally caught up to him, the team protecting him immediately engaged in battle with us. Each of us took on one of the members and Ino took on Naruto." Tsunade looked at Ino puzzled.

"The one I took on named himself Kirdei Tatsumaki. Just before we began out battle he revealed that his team was working for the Akatsuki." Tsunade's eyes widened as she fell back limply in her chair.

'Naruto…is in the Akatsuki's hands now…no…' She thought.

"At that point I attacked him with my Eight Trigrams: One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms."

"So he's dead?" She asked.

"Maybe, but not from that attack. He has a Bloodline limit called 'Soshigan', a dojutsu. It did something that averted my attacks. He claimed it is one of the three great dojutsu. It was extremely powerful."

"How would you rate him as a Shinobi? I don't recall seeing him in the Bingo book so…"

"I'd say upper C-Lower B class. It's hard to get an accurate measurement when fighting someone who has doubts. Regardless, in the end I proved to be the stronger ninja, unfortunately before I could deliver the finishing blow, I was hit by Naruto's Rasengan."

"Why? Has Naruto truly betrayed us?" Tsunade asked. Ino stepped forward and removed her mask.

"Perhaps I could answer that, Lady Hokage. I fought him after all," Tsunade nodded, "I noticed that Naruto had been acting weird, like he didn't even recognize us. Also he was using tactics against me that he should have known that I could counter after all our sparring matches before the 'Operation'." Ino said with a glance in Sakura's direction. "Shortly after we began I used my Mind Insertion Jutsu and discovered something very important… Naruto has lost his memory." Tsunade glared at Ino.

"How do you know this?" she asked.

"I spoke with the Nine-Tailed Fox." Tsunade nodded solemnly.

"Anyway as we all know, Naruto is rated as an S-class ninja but right now he's only around B-class as a threat, I think." Shikamaru stepped forward and removed his mask as Ino stepped back.

"My turn, I guess. I went up against the one known as Wolf. Never did get his last name. The guy seems to be the leader of their group; he's extremely strong, and a decent tactician. He managed to lock me into a stalemate. He uses fire attacks and seems to be inept with genjutsu. Also he has an affinity for wolves like the Inuzukas do for dogs. He's a mid B-class ninja." Tsunade waited for a second as Shikamaru stopped talking.

'Well that's just like Shikamaru…' she thought when he didn't continue.

"Sakura what about you?" Tsunade asked, hoping her apprentice did well. Sakura stepped forward but left her mask on.

"I fought the team's only girl. Name, Unknown. She was obviously the Team's medic. She did pretty well against me all things considered. She has an ability to summon up a Stone guardian, probably to protect her while healing…and she has some pretty powerful genjutsu…" Sakura was quiet for a second before continuing. "Despite that though she's only about a C-class threat." Tsunade folded her hands in front of her face, brooding. "Alright, that's all for now. Turn in your written reports within the week. Dismissed." Team Neji began filing out minus Sakura.

"Sakura…?" Tsunade asked.

"Lady Tsunade…I want to know the truth. Something doesn't feel right. And what's this 'Operation' that Ino mentioned?" Tsunade sighed.

"I was hoping Naruto would be the one to tell you this but seems like things have changed. Sit down. What I'm about to tell you is Top Secret S-class Information." Sakura nodded. "Sakura, the Operation Ino was talking about is called Operation: Spiral…Led by Naruto Uzumaki, Captain of Anbu Special Ops. Sakura, this may be hard to hear but Naruto never betrayed the village…"

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_Naruto stood watching from the playground as his classmates left with their parents. He often wondered what it was like, to have someone who would care for him like that. What it would be like to have family. Each time he felt his loneliness grow a bit more and the darkness get a bit darker. Most of the time people only looked at him with cold eyes, like he didn't even deserved to exist. Or else treated him like a pest. He didn't help it any, he was attention starved and could only get it by getting into trouble, but anything was better than those cold eyes._

_Sometimes, when he was very angry, something would whisper to him. Telling him how easy it would be to kill everyone, and raze the village. He would tell the voice to shut __up;__ after all he didn't possess that kind of power. Overtime, a mixture of defiance at the voice__ and a need for attention gave birth to his dream. He would be Hokage. People would finally stop looking at him with those cold eyes, and maybe he'd be able to start his own clan, like Sasuke had._

_Sasuke…_

_Sasuke…who is Sasuke?_

_I remember now…he's that kid from the Uchiha clan. No…that was years ago…_

_He was…_

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"Naruto, Wake up!" Kirdei yelled in Naruto's face. Naruto blinked his eyes open and glared at Kirdei.

"What is it? I'm trying to sleep."

"It's morning anyway. But Naruto when did you dye your hair?" Naruto looked puzzled while Kirdei handed him a bowl of water. Naruto was stunned; his hair was now a combination of blond and black. Naruto cautiously reached up and touched a lock of black hair and the black on it crumbled away revealing bright blind hair.

"That's weird. You dyed your hair black…" Kirdei muttered. "And your face…" Naruto glanced at his face in the water; light lines had appeared on his cheek and seemed to be getting darker each second. "Ah hell, things just got more complicated."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"We're going through the Land of Earth…" Kirdei said. Naruto frowned for a second and glanced at the water again.

"Damn…" Naruto muttered as he ran a hand through his hair, flaking off more of the black dye.

They were going to stick out like sore thumbs in the Land of Earth. During the Third Great Shinobi War, a certain blond-haired, blue-eyed future Hokage had proved devastating to Iwagakure's forces. To this day anyone with even one of those features was generally regarded with animosity or even outright hostility.

With three people in their group with blond hair and two of the blonds with blue eyes things weren't looking good.

"Ah well, we'll figure it out later." Kirdei said as he scratched the back of his head. Naruto set the bowl down and looked around.

"Hey, where are Wolf and Kuroiaki?"

"Taking another walk. We're using today to recuperate and get ready," Kirdei said as he walked over to a small campfire Naruto had failed to notice earlier. The smells of cooking food caused Naruto's mouth to water. Kirdei made Naruto a plate and continued, "You can rest, train, or whatever. We're leaving before dawn tomorrow though."

Kirdei walked over to his bag and pulled out several books and began flipping through one. Naruto blinked.

"Uh, where did those books come from?" He asked. Kirdei pulled a scroll out of his bag and tossed it to Naruto.

"I'm a sealist, though most ninja know how to seal basic stuff into scrolls." Naruto opened the scroll and found a list of a bunch of random ninja gear surrounded by unfamiliar symbols.

"Shuriken, kunai, explosive tags…" Naruto read aloud. "Geez, my memory is still full of holes." On instinct, Naruto bit his thumb and wiped some blood over the word 'ramen'. A poof of smoke erupted from the scroll and a cup of instant ramen appeared in his lap. Naruto glanced over at Kirdei. Naruto suppressed a snicker. Kirdei hadn't noticed a thing; he was too busy reading one of his books and writing notes. Naruto quickly went through the rest of the scroll unsealing several cup of ramen that Kirdei had sealed. Naruto quickly shoved the ramen into his own bag and wandered over to Kirdei.

"What are you working on?"

"Catching up on some research before I get to work replacing the tags we used up. Because we've been traveling so much I've been slacking off and we're going to run out before long." Kirdei said without looking up from his book.

"What could there be to research? You just make tags and stuff right? I mean even that seal you have on your stomach is basically just an amped up version of an exploding tag."

"You have no idea. That seal is a lot different from the seal on an exploding tag, but that's beside the point. Given enough time to prepare, you can do just about anything with seals."

"Uh-huh…"

"You dare doubt the seals! Fine I shall show you the awesome power that a seal contains." Kirdei glanced at his book one more time and scribbled another note down. "I want to test out this seal anyway."

Kirdei walked over to a tree, broke a twig off, and began drawing a circle and some weird symbols in the dirt. When he finished he sat cross-legged in the center and formed a hand sign. Naruto felt a burst of chakra from his companion, then nothing else.

"Alright, I want you to use the most powerful jutsu you can think of on me." Naruto looked hesitant. "Come on, don't hold back. You won't be able to hit me anyway." Naruto scowled, if Kirdei hadn't been a companion he wouldn't have let himself be goaded into it.

"Fine! **Shadow Clone Jutsu!**" A second Naruto poofed into existence. The first Naruto held his hand out while the second began spinning chakra in his hand. "Alright, here we go! **Rasengan!**" Naruto yelled as he charged forward.

In the position he was in Kirdei had no chance of avoiding the attack. Naruto thrust his hand forward, aiming for Kirdei's shoulder; not wanting to hurt him seriously. However the instant the Rasengan touched the edge of Kirdei's seal it vanished. Naruto stumbled to a halt.

'I thought I did it right…didn't I?" The shadow clone scowled and ran towards the real Naruto.

"Let's just try it again!" The shadow clone yelled an instant before it reached the seal. But the second it hit the edge of the seal, it exploded in a cloud of smoke.

"Nice! It worked!" Kirdei cheered.

"What did you do?" Naruto asked.

"I call it the Chakra Negation Seal. It disrupts the flow of chakra of anything with in the boundaries of the seal. It won't kill you, but Ninjutsu and Genjutsu are practically useless within my seal. I think it would be safe to guess explosive tags would also short out in here."

"That's…pretty impressive, I'll have to admit. What else can you do?" Kirdei grinned.

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"It can't be…" Sakura muttered as she leaned back in her chair. Tsunade cringed as she did. She hated having to hide anything from her apprentice, but she had no choice. ANBU Black Ops had several rules regarding information on missions; and for good reason. Should any of that info fall into the wrong hands it could devastate Konoha. Tears began sliding down Sakura's cheeks.

"You have to understand, Sakura, I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to, and I did. So many times I wanted to tell you. But it was for Naruto's safety as well as yours." Tsunade said quietly.

"Why?" Sakura asked as she stared at her lap.

"Sakura, Naruto was inducted into Anbu Black Ops shortly after he returned from training with Jiraiya. That's one of the reasons Danzo sent Sai with your team to recover Sasuke. He was hoping he could bring Naruto into Root. Sai was there to judge whether or not Naruto would be willing to work with Danzo. Fortunately he didn't meet the qualifications." Tsunade said as she rested her chin on her hands. Sakura looked up.

"S-so that's why."

"Actually, Naruto specifically asked that you not be notified of this mission. He wanted to tell you himself when he returned with Sasuke." Sakura's expression hardened.

"That idiot." Sakura began tearing up again.

"He knew you would have tried to stop him or go with him and that's why he left like he did. He wanted to sever the bond between you so you wouldn't be sad if he died fighting Sasuke or Itachi."

"Thank you for telling me Lady Tsunade. I need to go now."

"Of course. You've had a rough mission. Go rest and take a few days off."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade." Sakura said as she left the room with an expression of defeat on her face.

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The second she was out of sight of the Hokage Tower Sakura straightened up and began walking with purpose; a look of pure determination on her face. It had gotten dark while she spoke with the Hokage and she had to hurry and get ready. What she was about to do was foolish, even by her standards.

Naruto was alone and in the hands of the Akatsuki because of her. She had begged him to save Sasuke that day and because of it Naruto had accepted an insane, suicidal mission to draw out Sasuke by going after Itachi.

But enough was enough. She had grown up, become stronger, and even joined ANBU Black Ops.

"It's time I rescued _you,_ Naruto." Sakura whispered to herself. She was probably going to be in trouble when she got back, she could even be put to death, but she was going ahead with her plan anyway.

_'Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are lower than that.'_

'Time to take your words to heart, Kakashi-sensei.'

"What do you mean, 'Rescue, Naruto?' Huh, Sakura?" Sakura stopped dead in her tracks and turned around.

"Um, Nothing. Kakashi-sensei!"

"Liar. You're planning to leave, aren't you? You know where he is, don't you!" Sakura started trembling as Kakashi jab a finger at her and looked down at her with an angry eye. Sakura stilled herself.

"Yeah, I am and I do. Akatsuki has Naruto and I'm going to save him. I'll take you on if I have to." Sakura said as she slowly began reaching for a kunai. Kakashi ran a hand through his hair.

"Just tell me one thing, did Naruto betray us?"

"Never."

"What if the guards fell under a genjutsu, mysteriously in…oh say…an hour? Would that be enough time for someone to get ready and escape unseen?" Sakura grinned.

"Plenty."

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Kuroiaki sighed as she leaned her head against Wolf's shoulder. It was getting dark and their walk was going to have to end soon. It was nice, though. Being able to forget all of their problems and just walk together.

"I didn't think we'd get to have another walk like this so soon." Kuroiaki said quietly.

"Yeah, but we should be heading back. Kirdei is probably getting worried and we can't leave the Jinchuriki alone for too long in case he remembers the truth." Wolf said.

The continued walking for a few more minutes before the wind suddenly picked up. A sudden swirl of leaves revealed a man with a black cloak decorated with red clouds. Wolf and Kuroiaki suddenly kneeled.

"L-Lord Itachi." Itachi glared down at them.

"We need to talk."

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Naruto yawned as he walked back into camp. Night had fallen and it was too dark to train anymore. He had spent a couple of hours talking about seals with Kirdei before he decided to practice some of the moves he had remembered. Now he was exhausted and ready for bed.

"Been working hard?" Kirdei asked as he approached.

"Hn…" Naruto muttered. Kirdei laughed and drew a line on a piece of paper.

"Finally! I finished replacing all of our lost tags! Naruto lets have some…never mind." Naruto had passed out on his sleeping bag. Kirdei reached into his bag, pulled out his sealing scroll and unsealed a pack of ramen.

"Kirdei, it's time to face the Dawn." Wolf whispered from the bushed. Kirdei's face blanched.

'Not good.' One of the Akatsuki would only have come to meet them if they had royally screwed up.

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"Why haven't you taken Naruto to one of the secret caves?" Itachi said in his monotone voice.

"That was my idea Lord Itachi." Kirdei confessed. "The Eight-Tailed Beast has yet to be sealed and I don't believe we could restrain him long enough for the Akatsuki to find and seal the beast. He has no memory right now so we were buying time by acting as comrades. Even if you hadn't caught the Eight-Tails by the time we reached Amegakure the Akatsuki would be able to restrain him far better."

"And if he suddenly remembered that was our home base?" Itachi probed. Kirdei grimaced and bowed his head.

"It was the best we could come up with, Lord Itachi."

"Nonetheless, it seems like your plan is the best we have now. Send word to Tobi; ask him to meet you at the border of the Land of Rain. From there he and I will take charge of Naruto. You have one month, we believe we have located the Eight-Tails and we should have sealed it by then."

"Yes, Lord Itachi." Wolf said. Itachi glared down at Team Twilight before vanishing.

"Do not fail…"

"Yes, My Lord." The three replied.

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A time limit is set! Team Twilight has one month to transport Naruto to the border of the Land of Rain. With Sakura, Anbu Root, and the potential threat from the inhabitants of the Land of Earth threatening them, will Team Twilight be able to accomplish their Goal? Wait…isn't Sasuke headed for the Land of Earth as well!?

See you next chapter!


	14. Rogue Mission: Rescue the Idiot

Time for the next chapter, Yay! I want to apologize about the last chapter. It took me awhile to find the inspiration for it. This one is out much quicker though so enjoy!

Also! Thanks goes out to everyone who's read The Uzumaki Identity because we are officially over 10000 hits! I just wish I had as many reviews, oh well! Here it is Chapter 13!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or the Bourne Identity.

_Chapter 13: Rogue Mission: Rescue the Idiot_

_Land of Fire_

The gate guards never noticed a blur of pink motion as they lay face down in a puddle of their own drool. Someone had cast a genjutsu on them and they likely wouldn't wake for at least another hour. That was all the time Sakura would need to make her escape. Better yet, it would be a few days before anyone would start wondering where the pink-haired Kunoichi was. Hopefully by then any sign of her passing would be too stale for them to follow her; she doubted it, but one could always hope.

Seconds after exiting the gate, Sakura took to the trees and was quickly making progress towards the Land of Grass. It would be a stretch, but if she was lucky she would pass though the country at its thinnest part and she could pick up the trail of her comrade and his captors in the Land of Earth.

'Okay, a bit ill-conceived, but it's the best I've got.' Sakura thought.

Sakura relaxed a bit as she began putting more and more distance between herself and her home. If she survived the trip and punishment for going AWOL, she was definitely going to talk to Captain Neji about upgrading nighttime security.

A sudden whoosh of air caused Sakura to stop suddenly. A kunai sunk in to the trunk of the tree she was standing on.

"Where do you think you're going?" A young man said with a wild grin.

"Woof!" The dog added in.

"Kiba…" Sakura muttered. She was neck deep in trouble now. Kiba could very well ruin any chance she had of saving Naruto.

'Time to cleverly lie.'

"I'm on a mission for Lady Tsunade." She said as she forced a grin into place.

"Right…" Kiba said skeptically.

"I'm serious!"

"Then why are you wearing your Anbu armor?"

"Anbu work directly for the Hokage, even you should know that Kiba."

"Sakura, it's standard protocol to wear your animal mask on missions to protect your identity."

Sakura grimaced as she automatically reached up to touch her face on reflex.

"Sakura, tell me what's going on. As far as I can tell you're running away. That is a crime that could be punishable by death. I can't let you go or I'll be guilty of aiding a missing-nin."

"W-w-well…" Sakura stuttered.

"Out with it already!"

"Woof!" Akamaru agreed.

"……" Sakura muttered.

"What was that?"

"I'm going after Naruto alright!" Kiba looked stunned. As far as he knew, there was no information on the idiot's whereabouts.

"Look, Naruto is an Anbu captain and has been on an extended mission. He lost his memory sometime in the last few months and is now in the hands of the Akatsuki. My team tracked him down but was defeated."

"Whoa, slow down. Naruto's in Anbu?"

"Yeah. And if you're going to stop me I'm going to have to put you down." Kiba glared at her for a second.

"How do you plan on tracking him?"

"Errr…"

"What do you think Akamaru?"

"Woof!"

"Alright! We're coming with you! Rogue Mission: Rescue the Idiot! Go!" Kiba shouted as he pumped his fist in the air.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I still need to show that idiot I can kick his ass! He left before we could ever have a rematch!"

"Kiba, this isn't a game. We're officially going to be missing-nins."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm the one who said that just a minute ago. But friends look out for each other. Besides you need someone who can track and there is no one better than me and Akamaru here!"

"Fine. Let's get going. They are going to notice you missing a lot quicker than they would have missed me."

"Right on!"

"Woof!"

--

_Naruto suddenly skid to a stop._

"_What's wrong, Naruto? We need to hurry to Amegakure. This is our best chance of finding the Akatsuki leader."Said a white haired man who landed next to him._

"_Pervy Sage…It's Sasuke. He just destroyed one of my clones."_

"_It's Jiraiya for the last time! But I see. Go on Naruto, you're needed there more than I need you for this simple recon mission.'_

"_But pervy sage…"_

"_Naruto, I'm a Sannin. If I can survive your four-tailed form then a recon mission like this is going to be cake. And maybe I get a little research done. I've always heard the ladies in Ame are exceptional beauties…"_

"_Okay! Be careful Pervy Sage!" Naruto said with a grin as he turned to leave._

"_The same goes for you brat. Watch your temper, you don't want to hurt your comrades and if you kill Sasuke, Tsunade-junior won't be very happy with you."_

"_Right." Naruto nodded to Jiraiya and left never to see him again._

_19 days till Itachi and Tobi are to meet with Team Twilight at the border of the Land of Rain._

--

Naruto suddenly shot up in a cold sweat. "Pervy Sage!" Kirdei, Wolf and Kuroiaki jumped and looked over at the blond ninja.

"You ok, Naruto?" Kirdei asked. Naruto shook his head.

"Yeah, just another memory-dream. I remembered the last time I saw my old Sensei. Hey, do you guys know anything about an organization called 'Akatsuki'?"

"Yeah, but why would you want to know about them? They're an S-class organization, not something you want to mess with." Wolf quickly told him.

"They're the ones who killed my sensei, Jiraiya." The Twilight trio passed a look to each other, unnoticed by Naruto.

"They've been pretty quiet, as of late. No one has heard about them for the last year or so." Kirdei said.

"I see." Kirdei turned back to Wolf.

"Like I was saying, we need to go into town. We're low on supplies and we won't make it much farther if we don't restock."

"Are you absolutely sure? If we're discovered it could be the end of us."

"If we starve or get attacked that'll be the end of us…" Naruto looked up into the sky, partially blocked by trees.

When Team Twilight had told him they were going through the Land of Earth, he had been expecting barren wastelands. Instead the place was full of trees and grassland, though in the distance a huge mountain range could be seen. They had been traveling for the past couple weeks through various countries and the last few days had been spent traveling close to the border in the Land of Earth. They were traveling quickly and quietly, avoiding towns when possible and even then they had narrowly avoided 5 squads of Konoha Anbu.

"Fine. There's a small town about a day's travel from here. We'll stop there and resupply." Wolf finally consented. Naruto sighed. It was going to be another long day. Tension was growing in the group with each passing minute and Naruto couldn't help but feel like it was his fault.

--

Kakashi had been notified of Sakura's disappearance a few days after he had helped her escape. What really surprised him was Kiba Inuzuka's disappearance. He was supposed to have come back from a solo mission the same night Sakura left. It was likely that the two disappearances were mere coincidence, but one never knew. Friendship could bypass reason without a second thought.

If Kiba had encountered Sakura, he might have been convinced to join up…or he might be dead; killed on a mission or by Sakura in her desperation to ensure Naruto's safety. A drop of sweat slid down Kakashi's face. He'd killed Kiba. He just knew it. Not personally, but nonetheless he had led Kiba to a death by enraged, insane Kunoichi fist. Maybe it was time to take up drinking…

--

_Land of Earth: Ryukyu Village_

A raven-haired man walked into the trade village of Ryukyu. Several countries' merchants used the town as a checkpoint when traveling to towns throughout the Land of Earth. The man pulled his straw hat low over his eyes, shielding his face from view as he entered a hotel.

"I need a room for the night." The woman at the desk looked at the man's hidden face, then at his sword, then his face again.

"We don't want any trouble, sir…"

"Hn…" He replied and dropped cash down on the desk. The woman's eyes widened as she looked at the bills. There was easily 5000 ryo there.

"S-sir! Welcome to our establishment! You'll be in room 107!" The man's head sharply turned to glare at the wall. The woman back up a step as she caught sight of his eyes.

'The pure anger in those crimson eyes…'

The woman held a key out to the dark-haired man. He took it and left to his room without saying another word.

'He keeps interfering…'

--

Naruto cheered inwardly as he saw the village. He thought about it for a second. Just weeks ago he had yelled and screamed in joy when he saw Kumogakure. Now he wasn't even a little tempted to cheer. It was as if he was growing up all over.

'Weird. Makes sense though. My old instincts are returning.' Naruto turned his head to say something to Kirdei when he felt dizzy and collapsed.

"Naruto? Naruto. Naru…!" Naruto heard before blacking out.

--

Naruto shook his head as he stood up. He was once again in the sewers that made up his mindscape. He quickly made his way down the hallways towards the room that caged the Nine-Tailed Fox.

"What the hell, you stupid fox!"

"_**Silence, Brat. Can't you sense it? The Uchiha's presence?**_"

Naruto blinked and remembered the crimson eyes that had not long ago stared him down in his own mindscape.

"You mean that guy is here in Ryukyu Village?"

The Nine-Tailed Fox's face appeared at the cage with a wide grin.

"_**That's right. And to ensure we survive long enough for me to escape, I'm going to give you a little bit of your memory back. So be grateful.**_"

Naruto snorted. The Nine-Tailed Fox roared and a rush of red chakra rushed forward, and through Naruto. A scream tore free from Naruto's mouth as it did.

The chakra rushed through the hallways, twisting and turning, picking up speed. The chakra passed through the mountain of keys and homed in on the door with the Uchiha symbol on it and the kanji for Sasuke. The key dissolved into the chakra as it slammed into the door. The chakra vanished along with Naruto's screams; then, very slowly, the door holding back Naruto's memories of Sasuke opened.

**Author's Notes**

Well I'm going to end it there. This chapter is setting up the next chapter which should be pretty exciting.

5,000 Ryo 50,000 Yen 500 US Dollars

Keep an eye out for the next chapter. I already have a lot of it planned out so it'll be coming in the next week or so, barring apocalypse, school work, freak accident, or shikamaruitis which can be pretty devastating to a story, you know?


	15. Breaking Bonds

Hey, there! Welcome to chapter 14! I'm sad to say that I believe that this story has well and truly become an Alternate Universe…or maybe just alternate reality? It was inevitable though, what with taking place in the future before the series has ended. Yeah I know Hakumeigakure doesn't exist and neither does Team Twilight but their existence hasn't affected the real storyline (As far as I could tell) noticeably. Orochimaru still carried out his attack, 3rd Hokage still died, Akatsuki still want world domination, etc, etc. Anyway point is, certain Akatsuki member(s) are now dead, thus ending any influence on this future. Oh well, I hope you guys still enjoy the story.

This time I have some fun facts before we start.

**Fun Facts**:

The Tatsumaki version of Madara Uchiha differs from the Uchiha's version. History is told from the view point of whoever records it and a single event can vary from person to person. The Uchiha's believe Madara and his brother unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan and later on Madara plucked his brother's eyes out to gain an enhanced version of the Mangekyo Sharingan. The Tatsumaki(s) believe that Madara was originally a Hyuga and so his brother would have also been a Hyuga. Who knows? Maybe Tobi does.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or The Bourne Identity

--

_Chapter 14: Breaking Bonds_

Naruto pushed himself to his feet while cursing the Nine-Tailed Fox.

"What…did you…do… to me?" Naruto yelled while gasping for air.

"**Hehehe, It's not over we still have one more to go!**" The Fox chuckled. Orange chakra began seeping under the cage again.

"Hell no!" Naruto swung his arm frantically, trying to ward off the burning chakra.

"**It's for your own good!**" The Fox said laughing the whole time.

The chakra pierced Naruto to his very soul; once more causing blinding pain. After what seemed like an eternity, the pain receded and Naruto fell face first into the sewer water.

_Are you deaf as well as stupid?_

_M-my body…moved on its…own._

_Idiot!_

_You were my best friend…_

_Let's go for a walk, Naruto-kun._

_He might try to run. Maybe I should cut off his legs?_

_Gimme your heart!_

_I want to talk to you about Sasuke._

_Eww! You're an Aburame? Not the bugs! Groooss!_

_I'll play with you children later…_

--

Kuroiaki was the first to react when Naruto collapsed. She was instantly by his side running a diagnostics jutsu. Behind her, Kirdei's eyes lit up as he activated his Soshigan, taking in every detail of her work. Wolf pulled out a kunai and took up a defensive stance.

"Kirdei, get my medical kit!" She yelled as she reached for his neck. Kirdei reached into his pack and pulled out his scroll. He quickly unsealed the kit, which was the first item on the scroll, and handed it to Kuroiaki. "The hell? There's noth…"

Naruto's eyes shot open, a scream tore out of his mouth, and he began convulsing. Kirdei quickly restrained him.

"His pulse is sky rocketing. Kirdei, Valium!" Kirdei pulled a bottle out of Kuroiaki's medical kit and began opening the bottle. Kuroiaki pulled out a pair of pills and forced them into Naruto's mouth and began coaxing him to swallow them causing him to relax after a minute.

"Geez…" Kirdei complained. He wasn't a medical ninja for a good reason; he just didn't have the mindset for it. However, Slave Driver Mizuhime insisted that he needed to know some medical jutsu in case she wasn't able to be there or was incapacitated.

Kirdei was about to make his opinion on the matter known when Naruto suddenly began convulsing again.

"Kirdei! Pin him!" As Kirdei reached for Naruto, orange chakra suddenly appeared and lashed out at his hand causing him to jerk back.

"Son of a …" Kirdei yelled as he started blow air on the burn. Kuroiaki likewise was flung back and was letting out a rather colorful string of curses.

Then it was gone as quickly as it came. Naruto's body went still. Kuroiaki rushed over to check on him though keeping a bit of distance.

"That was the fox, wasn't it?" She whispered to no one.

"Yeah. No doubt. Geez that freaking burned!" Kirdei replied.

"Just be glad no one interested in him showed up. It seems like every time we need no one to show up, there they are looking for a fight." Naruto suddenly shot straight up causing everyone to jump.

"He's here…I remember and he's here!"

"Damn it, don't do that to us!" Kirdei yelled.

"Who's here?" Wolf asked calmly.

"Uchiha…" Team Twilight's heads suddenly whipped towards him and fingers twitched towards kunai pouches, "Sasuke Uchiha…" They quickly relaxed and hoped that he didn't notice.

"Oh boy, that's not good." Kirdei muttered.

"I need to find him! Now!" Naruto shot up and ran towards the village.

"Oh, hell!" Wolf yelled as he began chasing after him.

"Things can't ever be easy can they?" Kuroiaki muttered as she placed her hand on her forehead.

"Makes life exciting!" Kirdei said with almost a smile on his face.

--

Sasuke Uchiha sat quietly in his room, brooding. The second he'd received his room key he had felt a burst of Itachi's chakra followed up quickly by the idiot's. Each and every time Naruto showed up alongside Itachi he always managed to fail in killing him. Sasuke felt like breaking something, or perhaps destroying everything in the village.

He was beginning to get very frustrated, especially if he was considering killing hundreds of people he didn't know; he usually tried to avoid that if he could.

"Enough is enough!" Sasuke decided. He picked up his sword and decided to go confront the blond-haired loser.

--

Naruto could feel his presence like a solid thing. It had hurt like hell but the fox had returned every memory of Sasuke, or at least he thought he did. Memories involving the Uchiha were clear as day in the parts that were focused on him. Other things were often blurred, which was rather odd.

He could see Sasuke standing next to someone on a bridge somewhere in one memory. He looked extremely annoyed with the other person who was apparently asking him for something. 

The problem was, he couldn't see the other person, or the background, or hear what they were saying.

And as a bonus, he could remember the Akatsuki. And that scared him more than anything.

They were after the Tailed-beasts, some of which were sealed inside people.

He had the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed in him.

By the transitive property of fear, the Akatsuki were after him.

At the same time he felt energized by the fear. He was ready to smash each of their faces into dust.

But right now there were more important things to deal with.

Like Sasuke.

Naruto skidded to a stop in the middle of a street.

"Sasuke."

"…"

"Why don't we meet outside of town?"

"…"

Without a word the two vanished.

--

"He's changed directions. He's headed out of town." Wolf said.

"We need to stop him. Sasuke's strong, possibly stronger than Lord Itachi." Kirdei replied.

"Shut-up! Nobody's stronger than Lord Itachi. Ever since that time he and Sasuke fought a few years ago he's been training really hard!" Wolf yelled in Itachi's defense. Kirdei didn't reply.

--

It took only a few minutes to catch up to Naruto. It was almost movie like, the way he and the raven-haired man faced-off against one another. A gust of wind blew through whipping their hair about their heads, completing the image.

Kuroiaki, Kirdei, and Wolf landed next to Naruto and faced the Uchiha.

"Naruto don't fight him. We can't afford to cause a scene." Wolf said.

"Sasuke, I'm going to bring you home!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto, listen…"

"I've had enough of you interfering, idiot. Why can't you get it through your thick skull? I…Left…Willingly. I don't care about any promises you've made, I don't want to hear it."

"Naruto. Let me fight him for you. You need to recover more before you can match him." Kirdei said quietly; a hint of excitement laced in his words. Kirdei had activated his Soshigan and they were bright crimson.

"He's mine!"

"Naruto, your goal is to bring him back, yes? We're comrades. If I bring him down you get your wish anyway." Naruto scowled before nodding slowly. "Thanks."

"Kirdei if we're starting a fight with the Uchiha, I'm taking him. You got the Hyuga after all."

"Please just work together; I don't want you two get hurt!" Kuroiaki pleaded.

"Fine." They replied in unison.

"You…who did you take those eyes from? Cause you sure as hell aren't an Uchiha!" Sasuke yelled.

"Well I'm glad you know otherwise, Uchiha. But I didn't steal these eyes. They're one hundred percent mine." Kirdei said with a grin. Sasuke gripped his sword.

"You don't really interest me, anyway. I see now they are a bit different than Sharingan, and aren't even fully developed; a waste of time. Don't interfere."

"Screw it, Kirdei lets hit him fast and hard!"

"Right."

The pair began forming hand signs in unison, not bothering to hide them from the lone Uchiha. He'd never be able to use their jutsu.

"**Fire Style…**" Wolf yelled.

"**And Wind Style…**" Kirdei replied. Kirdei vanished and reappeared near Sasuke as a blur of motion, running circles around him. The air began swirling around the calm, confident Sasuke. In the sky a funnel cloud had begun descending above the Uchiha.

Wolf began charging Sasuke at a pace that would put him near the Uchiha an instant before the funnel cloud would connect.

It was in that instant that he sucked as much air as possible and unleashed a gout of flame.

Defying physics, the funnel-cloud-now-tornado ignited.

"**Flaming Vortex Combination Jutsu!**"

Kirdei and Wolf leapt back to appreciate their handiwork.

There was absolutely no way Sasuke had survived the attack.

Kirdei and Wolf grimaced.

'Too easy.'

The flames and wind suddenly shot straight up into the air.

Sasuke had nullified their strongest jutsu, simply by swinging his sword.

Sasuke smirked.

"Stop wasting my time." Sasuke vanished abruptly.

"Where did…" Kirdei began but stopped as he felt cold steel press against his neck.

"You'll go first." Sasuke said emotionlessly. Kirdei's eyes widened.

'When did he move?'

"KIRDEI!** Wind Style: Rasen Shuriken!**" Sasuke turned around and grinned, allowing Kirdei to slip away.

"**Chidori Nagashi!**" Sasuke yelled as he whipped his sword around to meet the attack.

The effect was devastating. Kirdei, Wolf, and Kuroiaki were immediately flung backwards, unable to withstand the force of the attack. Several nearby trees were blown to pieces and a large crater began forming beneath them.

After a few seconds the power finally overcame the pair flinging them away from each other.

Sasuke flipped backwards and landed gracefully, smirking, on his feet while Naruto rolled to his feet.

Naruto grinned wildly as he wiped dirt off of his cheek.

"Just like old times, eh?" Naruto said. A loud crack rang out. Sasuke cursed quietly. His sword had been cracked near the hilt. Sasuke reached back and laid his hand on his cursed mark.

"Looks as though I'll have to use this after all."

"Foolish little brother." Sasuke spun on his heels to face the sound of the voice. Itachi stood not 10 yards away from him; the wind causing his cloak to flap about and forcing him to hold his hair out of his face.

"Itachi!" Itachi simply tiled his head back and to the left before vanishing. "Damn you, Itachi!" Sasuke muttered before vanishing.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled before attempting to go after him.

"Stop, Naruto." Wolf was holding his wrist with an iron grip.

"Let me go I have to go after them!" He protested.

"Naruto, you don't want to be there when that fight goes down. Besides, look at your arm." Naruto suddenly noticed the blinding pain in his arm. In his haste and adrenaline rush he had been able to block out the pain.

"Kirdei help me get him out of here. The authorities will probably be here soon to see what the hell is going on." Wolf ordered. Kirdei quickly put his arm under Naruto's and lifted him.

"Let's hurry."

--

_5 Kilometers outside Ryukyu Village_

Kuroiaki put the finishing touches on the makeshift sling she put together for Naruto.

"That is the worst injury I have ever seen, Naruto. You shouldn't be using that jutsu." Kuroiaki lectured.

"I'll be fine, give me a few hours and the injury will be healed." Kuroiaki stalked off muttering about 'crazy bloodlines'.

"Thanks again, Naruto…"

"Huh? Oh hey, Kirdei. What for?" Kirdei blinked as he walked up.

'He's dense.'

"You saved me,_ again_. You must have been one hell of a shinobi in your previous life."

"Maybe…" Naruto said with a hint of sadness. Kirdei looked at the boy and cursed mentally.

"Uh…hey Naruto, why don't you go get some water for us?" Kirdei said with a forced smile in place. Kirdei pulled out several canteens and forced them into Naruto's arms.

"Hello! See the arm? Why can't one of you do it?" Naruto complained.

"Kuroiaki is exhausted from healing you, I have to set up a seal to alert us if someone comes after us and Wolf is…on watch."

"Uh-huh…right. Whatever." Naruto said as he stood up.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!**" He said with a one handed seal. Several clones appeared and picked up a canteen. "Let's get this over with."

"That's the spirit, off you go!" Kirdei said.

When he was reasonably sure that Naruto was out of ear shot he signaled Wolf and Kuroiaki that he needed to speak with them.

"Kirdei, what is it?" Wolf said annoyed.

"Guys, we need to talk." Kirdei said quietly.

"What is it, Kirdei" Kuroiaki asked.

"Better be good."

"I think it's time for us to depart from the Akatsuki." Kirdei said rapidly. Wolf and Kuroiaki sat quietly for a second, until Wolf burst out laughing.

"Geez, I almost though you were serious. You always know how to lighten the mood." Wolf said as he rolled on the ground clutching his sides.

"I'm dead serious." Wolf sat up and glared at Kirdei.

"It's not funny anymore. Whatever is going through that empty space you call a brain…just forget about it. We have a good thing going right now."

"I don't think I can do it. There's just something about Naruto…Kuro you agree right?" Kirdei said with a hopeful glance in Kuroiaki's direction.

"Um…"

"Kuroiaki…this is foolishness. The Akatsuki have taken care of us. They have become our _family. _They took us in when we had nowhere else to go!" Wolf said with a glare.

"I-I-I'm going to have to agree with Wolf on this one Kirdei. We have protection, steady flow of money, and it just wouldn't be smart for us to do this. Besides as long as we're together that's all that matters right?" Kirdei and Wolf weren't listening anymore.

"That settles it, Kirdei. We're sticking with the Akatsuki." The next words out of Kirdei's mouth were the hardest things he ever had to say.

"Guess that make me the odd man out. I won't let him die like this!"

Kirdei and Wolf vanished.

--

And there's chapter 14! Things have finally hit their breaking point in Team Twilight. Kirdei has chosen to fight to protect Naruto while Kuroiaki and Wolf have decided to stay with Akatsuki. A fierce battle is in the near future but the question is; with Naruto oblivious to what's going on, can he defeat both Wolf and Kuroiaki, his closest friends and escape with Naruto? Or will he die at their hands? Perhaps even worse, what will happen when he discovers his companions have been lying and are actually his enemies?

Btw If there are any artists out there I would love to see a picture of what you think Team Twilight looks like. just Pm me or something. If not i'll survive.


	16. A New Hero

Author's notes

Welcome to Chapter 15!

A bit of a spoiler for those that haven't been keeping up with the manga, if you don't want to know then why have you read this far in my story?!

Itachi, apparently, isn't a deranged psychopath who randomly murdered his family to join an evil organization. He's a deranged psychopath who randomly murdered his family to join an evil organization to save the world. Weird, huh? Anyway…

Tension between the members of Team Twilight has finally come to a boiling point and Wolf and Kirdei have engaged in combat.

Kirdei, plagued by guilt, has chosen to defend Naruto from the Akatsuki's plans.

Wolf, obsessed with gaining power to revive his village, has chosen to side with the Akatsuki.

And Kuroiaki, torn between the man she sees as her brother and her boyfriend and the organization that gave them a second chance at life, has also decided to side up with the Akatsuki.

Here we go!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the Bourne Identity**

--

_Chapter 15: A New Hero_

"Son of a bitch!" Naruto cursed quietly as he listened to Team Twilight talk from the trees. They were a part of the Akatsuki the whole time. He hadn't really thought about it in his rush to find Sasuke, but they were leading him to Amegakure, the Akatsuki's home base!

"Kuroiaki… This is foolishness…" Naruto gritted his teeth; his eyes began blazing red. It hurt! He had come to consider Kirdei as a close friend. Sure Wolf and Kuroiaki were a little distant, but he figured they were just shy; that given enough time they would open up as Kirdei had. 'Kirdei…' Naruto grew angrier. He thought Kirdei was acting suspicious and that's why he sent Shadow Clones to get the water while the real Naruto stayed behind.

"That settles it, Kirdei. We're sticking with the Akatsuki." Wolf said as he looked Kirdei square in the eyes. Kirdei, the bastard, lowered his head in defeat. Naruto was about to jump down and tear the traitors a new one when he was stunned.

"Guess that makes me the odd man out. I won't let him die like this!" Kirdei shouted.

In an instant Wolf and Kirdei vanished.

"Wha…?" Naruto muttered. High in the air metal clashed with metal and Kirdei hit the ground hard, a kunai gripped tightly in his hand. Wolf landed on his feet and glared at Kirdei as he slowly rose to his feet.

"Wolf! Kirdei! Stop it please!" Kuroiaki yelled as she ran between the two. "We're friends, no we're _family_! We have to stick together. Please, Kirdei. Be reasonable! It isn't worth it to betray the Akatsuki! They will hunt us down and kill us. Do you want that? Do you want to die?" Kuroiaki lowered he voice, "I sure as hell don't."

"No, Kuroiaki. You be reasonable. We work for an organization bent on conquering the world. They don't care what happens to us, as long as we play the part of obedient little tools." Kuroiaki looked away. "And Wolf, you should know as well as I do; they don't want more villages. They don't want a 'revived Hakumeigakure'. They want a single mercenary group controlled by the main members of Akatsuki." He yelled angrily.

"Shut…up…Kirdei. I am the leader of this team. **I am.** If I say we will revive Hakumei, then we will! Don't listen to him Kuro-chan. I promised you remember." Kuroiaki looked at him. She turned and slowly walked towards the fire. When she arrived she turned and faced Kirdei.

"Kirdei, think hard. Is this what you want? Are you one-hundred percent sure of yourself?"

"Kuro, please don't. This isn't what our comrades who died that day would want."

"Damn it, Tatsumaki! Answer my question. Are you really willing to turn your back on Wolf, Hakumei, and me? All to save some, Jinchuriki?"

"He's not just some Jinchuriki." He said just loud enough for everyone to hear. Kirdei reached into his shirt and tugged at something. Naruto caught a gleam of metal and gasped.

Kirdei threw a headband to the ground between Wolf and Kuroiaki, and himself; the symbol of a setting sun inscribed on the plate.

"I'm willing to give everything to protect my comrades." He said with perfect confidence. Kuroiaki turned, and looked at him sadly.

"That's too bad. **Ninja Art: Flame Guardian Jutsu!**" Kuroiaki had apparently performed hand signs when she turned away because the fire beside her began rippling and expanding. Within seconds a humanoid form made of pure flames stepped out of the fire. It turned its featureless face on Kirdei.

"Game over, Kirdei." Wolf said as he slipped into his fighting stance.

--

_Land of Lightning_

A cold fist gripped Sakura's heart as she and Kiba stepped into the clearing where they had fought Team Twilight. It had been a couple weeks, yet there was still blood visible in a few spots where Neji and Kirdei, and Shikamaru and Wolf had fought.

"Geez this place reeks." Kiba complained before Sakura whacked him over the head.

"Show a little more respect, Idiot! Neji and Shikamaru almost died here!" She said angrily.

Kiba backed away looking apologetic.

'I kinda miss the old Sakura. She was less violent.' He thought.

"Hey, Sakura. I need something of Naruto's so I can pick up the trail again."

She nodded and pulled a t-shirt out of her pack; tossing it to him.

"Geez, the things you do for friends." Kiba complained before taking a whiff of the shirt. Akamaru padded up to Kiba, wagging his tail happily, until Kiba dumped the shirt on his head.

"It's tough, your own scent almost over powers Naruto's, but I think I got it." He said sniffing at the air. Sakura quickly snatched the t-shirt off Akamaru's head and turned away, hiding a blush, while shoving the shirt back into her pack.

"Let's go!" Kiba shouted happily, not noticing Sakura's embarrassment.

"Woof!"

--

_Land of Earth_

Kirdei slapped his hands together into a hand sign.

"**Soshigan!**" He yelled focusing on a mental image of water. His ice blue eyes became a dark blue and 2 tomoe separated themselves from his pupils.

Wolf regarded him with indifference.

"Pulling out your trump card already Kirdei? You'll need it, I suppose. You could barely keep up with me in sparring and you seriously think you could take me _and_ Kuroiaki?"

With that Wolf launched himself at Kirdei, throwing a wide punch at his head. Kirdei dipped low, grabbed his arm, planted his palm on Wolf's chest and tossed him over his shoulder.

Expecting his reaction, Wolf grabbed Kirdei's wrist and flung him towards Kuroiaki, before landing on his feet. The Fire Guardian put itself between Kuroiaki and Kirdei and clotheslined him.

Kirdei landed on his back, hard. He recovered with just enough time to roll out of the way of a kick aimed at smashing his head.

'Damn.' Kirdei thought, rubbing his neck, as he got to his feet. Not only was the Fire guardian, which he had never seen her use before, solid, but it burned him also. The Guardian began stalking towards him.

Wolf moved to stand by Kuroiaki, apparently content to watch the guardian wear him out before moving in for the kill. 'Why did he have to mature?' Not a couple years ago Wolf's ego would have demanded he defeat Kirdei himself. Now he was smarter and (mostly) held his pride in check.

'Right, good idea to conserve chakra.' Kirdei thought as he began performing hand signs. "**Water Style: Water Breath Jutsu!**" A torrent of water gushed out of his mouth slamming into the guardian, creating a mass of steam. When it cleared, the guardian had shrunk to a tenth of its original size.

"Kirdei behind you!" Wolf yelled. Kirdei whipped around and leaned back as a kunai passed inches from his face.

"Your aim sucks, Wolf!" Kirdei taunted. 'Gotta focus, he shouldn't have gotten behind you so easily.'

"Wasn't aiming for you." Kirdei looked back. The kunai had embedded itself in the ground next to the guardian. Attached to the end was a piece of paper that was on fire.

"Oh s…" The paper bomb exploded, causing him to cover himself from the blast. When the smoke cleared, the guardian was twice the size of its original size.

"Damn…" He said and a drop of sweat slid down his face. He ran through several hand signs. "Too easy, Wolf! **Water Style: Aqua Field!**" Kirdei let loose another torrent of water filling the area with ankle deep water. The Guardian retreated out of range of the Jutsu. Kirdei took advantage of the moment to jump into the air and begin more hand signs. His eyes suddenly blazed crimson.

"**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu! Chakra Enhancement: 34 Percent!**" Kirdei breathed intense flames down at the water, causing most of it to evaporate.

"You're an idio…damn it!" Wolf cursed. He was about to cut Kirdei down for wasting chakra canceling out his own jutsu when he realized just how smart it was. The air was now super saturated with water.

Wolf looked up and saw several clouds now covered the area. A drop of water hit him on the head. Kirdei faced Wolf and grinned.

"Bye bye, Guardian!" he said. Wolf snarled and began charging forward when Kuroiaki drop kicked Kirdei's head. Kirdei flew through the air and rolled to a stop several yards away. Kuroiaki cursed as the rain caused her guardian jutsu to dissipate. Kirdei groaned as he pushed himself to his feet. The rain drenched the area then disappeared as quickly as he created it.

"Damn it, Kirdei! Just die!" Wolf shouted as he flung another kunai with a paper bomb attached at Kirdei.

Kirdei's eyes widened as the kunai sped towards him. There was no way he'd avoid this one. Everything seemed to slow down. More so now than ever, he took everything in. The gleam of sunlight off of the water drops he created, the cool touch of the wind as it blew past him, Naruto dropping out of a tree and running towards him.

'Naruto…I'm sorry.' The kunai seemed slowed down as it approached his forehead. 'At least I went down fighting…'

Then the world went black.

--

_Unknown Location_

Kirdei opened his eyes to bright light and gleaming white marble. He sat up surprised. He felt fine, not hurt at all. His neck wasn't burned, no cuts, bruises, nothing. Wolf's kunai should have pierced his skull and blown his head off…unless it did. And he was in heaven.

"Well," he said as he stood up, "Not what I expected the afterlife to be like." He glanced around and noticed the hall he had woken up in was completely empty except for six statues. The statues were in two rows of three facing each other.

"Weird." He mumbled as he went to look at each statue. Each one was in a different pose, but all were in fighting stances and wielding different weapons.

The one thing that was the same was their eyes. Each had gemstones where the eyes should be. One had an amber eye with two tomoe made of onyx. The other eye was an amazing gemstone with multiple colors and three tomoe. Each statue was the same. One had a blue with two tomoe and the other was the multicolored gemstone. Red, Purple, Green. Then he came to the final statue.

"G-Grandpa..." He muttered. He understood now. They were the statues of the greatest Tatsumaki's ever. His grandpa had been the clan leader until Orochimaru decided to attack his village and slaughter everyone.

'Not even Grandpa had survived…' Kirdei thought as he placed his head against the statue. Just where was he?

He took in the details of his grandpa's statue. One eye was an emerald green, likely symbolizing his grandfather's affinity for wind while the other was the strange multicolored gem stone. He stood tall wielding a flaming sword and dressed in the same cloak he was always wearing, even the day he died.

"Welcome, Kirdei Tatsumaki!" Kirdei jumped and spun around. A man was sitting at a table that wasn't there before.

"Wh-who are you?" Kirdei stuttered. The man chuckled and looked Kirdei in the eyes. Kirdei gasped, he could recognize those eyes anywhere; they were the Rinnegan eyes.

"You know who I am. My name is of little importance. I am the one who created the eyes you now wield."

"So I'm dead?" The man laughed.

"Sit down, sit down," The man said and gestured at the seat across from him. "I'll answer all your questions in due time." Kirdei walked over and sat down.

"To begin with, you're not dead; this is…a genjutsu of sorts." Kirdei's eyes widened. He wasn't dead, then that means…

"Calm down, your fight isn't over, either. Time is merely stopped, sort of."

"I don't have time to be messing around, old man!" The man slammed his hand down.

"Insolence! Do you know how few of your people have ever been in this place? You will listen, or you will die!" Kirdei shivered.

"Y-yes. I'm sorry."

"This is a legendary place where a Tatsumaki has a chance to become greater than normally possible. After seeing what the Uchiha did with their Sharingan, I placed a limiter on the Soshigan to ensure only the ones I deem worthy could achieve its full power. As of today only six have ever achieved a full powered Soshigan and it has only ever been in one eye; as can be seen in the statues of your ancestors."

Kirdei glanced around at the statues. He was right; the multicolored stone was only in one eye in each statue.

"That eye alone gave them unimaginable power and let them have the power to achieve their dreams or goals. It takes an insane amount of determination to activate this latent genjutsu and you are now among the few to have done it." The man vanished and reappeared next to one of 

the statues. "The first Tatsumaki, Tokawa Tatsumaki, wanted the power to rebuild his clan to be the most powerful clan ever." He walked to the next one.

"Miyano Tatsumaki. She wanted to destroy an enemy army that was threatening to destroy the clan. Nishi Tatsumaki became a rogue ninja devoted to destroying the countries that had killed his father." He disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the room.

"Shiromaru Tatsumaki wanted to conquer a land for the Tatsumaki to inhabit.

Haruka Sakitoyo needed it to destroy an extremely powerful ninja who had killed her family. And finally, Daisuke Tatsumaki, your grandfather, needed it to lead his village safely through a particularly violent Shinobi war." He reappeared in the seat across from Kirdei, startling him. He looked Kirdei in the eye and asked, "What has brought you here?"

Kirdei gritted his teeth frustrated. He didn't care about all this at the moment. Any other time and he'd be ecstatic, but right now he only cared about finishing what he started. "I only need enough power to defend a person I gave everything up for." The User quirked an eyebrow. "In fact, I have everything I need right now. This jutsu gave my mind enough time to catch up and react. I'm out of here." Kirdei stood up and began to look for an exit.

"He's that determined to protect just _one_ person… imagine if he had more people to protect. Interesting. Very interesting." The User muttered to himself.

"Time has come for you to return to the fight. Farewell, Kirdei Tatsumaki!" Kirdei looked over at the man, confused. Suddenly the room exploded into white and Kirdei vanished from the hall.

The User grinned to himself.

'Things are going to be very interesting for that young man,' he thought as he gazed at the newest statue. It was far larger than the rest and very different.

--

_Land of Earth_

Wolf blinked. "What the hell?" Kirdei was there one second and gone the next. He was so puzzled that the explosion and sudden appearance of the Jinchuriki didn't even register with his mind. Wolf looked over at Kuroiaki. She looked as dumbfounded as he felt.

"Hahahahaha! This is AWESOME!" Wolf whipped his head towards the sound. Kirdei stood on top of a tree looking around at everything. His expression was one of pure amazement. It was as if he had never seen anything ever and was getting to for the first time.

Wolf didn't realize how close to the truth he was. Kirdei was seeing the world like no one ever had before. Like the Uchiha, he could see a person's chakra when his Soshigan was active but this was beyond anything he could imagine. Everything had an aura of Chakra! Trees were a mix 

of dark blue and golden amber. The ground glowed amber as well. The clouds were an intense mixture of blue and ice blue and practically vibrated with a haze of purple.

Kirdei was seeing the earth's elemental Chakra.

"What won't you just die?" Wolf shouted; throwing a kunai at Kirdei's head. Without looking Kirdei snatched the kunai out of the air and put it in his kunai holster. Wolf gritted his teeth. Who did he think he was? A Sannin?

"Damn you, Kirdei! Don't you dare ignore me!" Kirdei blinked and looked down, as if noticing Wolf for the first time. Wolf backed up toward Kuroiaki.

'Something's not right here…'

"Heh. **Tatsumaki Style: Elemental Barrage!**" He said calmly as he jumped into the air.

One jumped into the air, nine landed in a circle around Wolf and Kuroiaki. The pair began looking around them, wide eyed at their sudden disadvantage.

The first one that landed looked at his former comrades with blazing crimson eyes. Fire exploded out of the ground and began twisting around him.

The second one looked at them with dark blue eyes. The water that soaked the ground from earlier rose up and began flowing around him.

The third looked with bright amber eyes. Stones began tearing themselves free from the ground and started circling him.

The fourth watched them with emerald eyes. The air began swirling around him causing his clothes to billow.

The fifth saw them through bright purple eyes. His skin crackled with barely contained lightning.

The sixth had dark brown eyes. Trees began sprouting out of the ground around him in sharp points.

The seventh had clear blue eyes. His breath could be seen as the temperature of the air around him dropped into the freezing range.

The eighth glared at the pair with pure black eyes and white tomoe. The light around him seemed to vanish as if being sucked into a black hole. It pulled the shadows into a sword of pure darkness and snarled in anger.

The ninth and final one looked at them sadly with pure white irises and black tomoe. He pulled the light around him like a cloak, making it hard to look at him.

Lightning Kirdei reacted first sending blasts of static electricity at the pair. Wolf twisted and grabbed a stunned Kuroiaki in an attempt to avoid the paralyzing electricity.

Flame Kirdei whipped his arm out sending the fire around him towards the pair, singeing clothes and hair but still unable to hit the air directly.

Water Kirdei blasted them with water while blades of wind began cutting them. Trees suddenly sprouted from the ground and wrapped around them. The air around them chilled freezing the water on their skin. Stones smacked both in the head rendering them mercifully unconscious.

Dark Kirdei roared in an unearthly voice and swept his blade toward the pair only to be stopped by Light Kirdei, who was shaking his head.

Dark Kirdei roared in defiance before exploding into nothing. Light Kirdei faded away while the remaining clones exploded in a puff of smoke.

When the smoke cleared the original Kirdei remained, trembling. "H-heh heh. Woo!" He said before falling face-first into the dirt.

The last thing he saw was a blur of blond rushing towards him.

--

Yay! It's done! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I've been planning it out ever since I introduced Team Twilight, so I hope you enjoyed it!

**Jutsu Dictionary:**

**Ninja Art: Flame Guardian Jutsu-** Another type of Kuroiaki's bloodline. Uses fire to create a guardian. It is one of her more offensive guardians but like normal fire can be put out with water.

**Water Style: Water Breath-** User shoots water from their mouth at a high pressure.

**Tatsumaki Style: Elemental Barrage-** An extremely powerful jutsu that apparently belongs to the Tatsumaki clan. It appears to be very draining to the user and other side-effects are currently unknown. How Kirdei was aware of the ability is currently unknown as he passed out directly after using it. Splits a person into nine clones based on fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, wood, ice, light, and dark chakra each with abilities related to that particular chakra. Further information is unknown.


	17. Aftermath

Sorry for the delay! Life's been keeping me a bit busy. Fortunately summers coming up so I'll have plenty of time to write!

Right then to the story!

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own them.

--

_Chapter 16: Aftermath_

"Ugh…" Kirdei groaned as he peeled his eyes open, the world a blurry mess before Kirdei's eyes.

"Ah, you're awake. Good." Someone nearby said.

"God…?" Kirdei muttered as a shock of blond appeared in his field of blurriness.

"Not quite. Now come on sit up." Kirdei groaned as the person helped him sit up.

"The hell happened to me?" Kirdei said while rubbing his face. What had he been doing? It was something important, something…

"Oh god!" he yelled as his hands began searching for a hole in his head. The person knelt down beside Kirdei.

"Whoa there, Kirdei. Calm down. You're head's just fine." Kirdei blinked and looked up at the person's face.

"Naruto…" Kirdei said quietly, ashamed of himself. "You saved me from Wolf and Kuroiaki didn't you? I'm…I'm sorry about everything. I…"

"Actually I didn't. And don't worry I'll forgive you, if you explain what's going on." Kirdei shot Naruto a confused look.

"Wait, if not you then who saved me from Wolf's Kunai? I remember it was about to pierce my skull, then blackness."

"Kirdei, you beat them by yourself. You used some strange jutsu that split you in to several elemental clones. Afterwards you passed out and your chakra began fluctuating violently. In fact while trying to take care of you, fire chakra surged out of your body and scorched the flesh off of my arm." Naruto held up a bright pink arm causing Kirdei to gasp. The skin on his arm was brand new; not yet colored by sun exposure and in extreme contrast with the rest of his skin.

"It just began calming down in the last couple of days. I don't know what that jutsu was but it was a hell of a powerful one. One second you were about to be killed, the next you were 

laughing about 'colors' on top of a tree, then boom super jutsu and defeated Kuroiaki and Wolf and you passed out."

Kirdei shook his head in disbelief. "What happened after I passed out? Are Kuro and Wolf…?"

"Well…"

--

"_H-heh heh. Woo!"_

"_Kirdei!" Naruto yelled as he collapsed. Naruto instantly checked his pulse and temperature. He was alive but he was burning up._

"_Well well if it isn't the Jinchuriki!" Naruto looked up and glared at the orange masked man._

"_You. You're that bastard who can let attacks slip through him!"_

"_Tobi!" the man supplied helpfully._

"_Tobi." Naruto spat._

"_Tobi is going to let you go for now because the Akatsuki lost the trail of the Eight Tails. Leader won't be happy but maybe if Tobi is a good boy, he'll get to help capture you later!"The goofy man suddenly glared at Naruto._

"_**I'll be taking Kirdei and Team Twilight now, so run along before I get angry.**__"_

"_Screw you! There's no way you're taking Kirdei."_

"_Can't be helped then! Bye-bye foxy!" Tobi said with a happy wave before vanishing with Wolf and Kuroiaki._

"_Damn it!" Naruto yelled as he slammed his fist on the ground._

_--_

"I-I see. So you don't know if they survived?" Kirdei asked.

"Sorry."

"And Lor…I mean… Tobi of the Akatsuki has them now." Kirdei looked at his lap.

"You have any regrets?" Naruto asked; the question carefully loaded.

"It's funny. You would think someone would have regrets about betraying their only family, but I don't feel a single regret about abandoning the Akatsuki."

"But what about Wolf and Kuroiaki." Kirdei gave Naruto a resolved look.

"Like I said, I have no regrets abandoning the Akatsuki. They made their choice, as far as I'm concerned they _are_ the Akatsuki." Naruto grinned.

"Good now I won't have to kill you!"

"I'm glad. That would have really sucked."

"So what do we do from here?" Naruto asked because, honestly, he didn't know. He could remember quite a bit now but it seemed as though he was a missing-nin from his village.

"If you don't mind, I want to go to the ruins of my village. There are…things I need to pick up there. Afterwards we'll go about finding out your status with Konoha and go from there."

"Speaking of your village," Naruto reached into his pack and pulled out a headband. "I thought you might want this." The headband was marked with the symbol of a setting sun, the Hakumei Headband.

Kirdei held it in his hands. This was his symbol of adulthood. Proof that he was a shinobi of Hakumeigakure. Given to him on the day he successfully completed Academy training. Kirdei promptly chucked it as far from him as he could. Naruto watched passively as it flew through the air.

"Hakumei is part of who I am. I was raised there, my friends and family died protecting it. But the only thing left of Hakumei is me and I've chosen to follow you…Lord Naruto." Naruto's eyes widened. "I'll be your first follower on your path to glory. Whether as a Missing-nin or Hokage or whatever it is you do. I've made my choice, given everything up to defend you, and I have no regrets."

Naruto felt a pang as Kirdei said the word Hokage. 'That was my life's goal at one point, maybe it still is?'

"Because that's your nindo, your ninja way?" Naruto said quietly.

"Yeah."

"Looks like we're going to pay one last stop to Hakumei!"

"Sounds like a plan, but if it's alright I think I'm gonna catch a few days of sleep."

"What!" Naruto exclaimed before realizing Kirdei had passed out.

--

_Unknown Akatsuki Lair_

"**Well, it looks like you failed.**" Tobi said casually as he watched the two teens knelt before him.

"We're sorry Lord Tobi, Please forgive us." Wolf said as he stared at the ground trembling from exhaustion, his wounds, and more than a little fear.

"**On top of that my subordinate with the most potential was lost in the exchange.**" Tobi continued as if nothing was said. Wolf and Kuroiaki flinched.

"Tobi thinks it's ironic! You guys are _Team Twilight_. Twilight is the point in time where darkness and light mix the most. Kirdei chose the light while you two betrayed him and went with the darkness!" Tobi said suddenly switching personalities.

"My Lord! He was the one who betrayed us! Not the other way around!" Kuroiaki suddenly defended.

"**Heh, I think otherwise. Kirdei chose to hold on to the ideals of Hakumeigakure and upheld the alliance that Konoha and Hakumei were on the verge of completing by defending that boy. **Oh well! Tobi has a treat because you two were a good boy and girl!" Wolf and Kuroiaki tensed. They had not been expecting to survive this long, let alone be rewarded.

"**You two are going to be trained to become full Akatsuki members. You aren't strong enough now but you will be.**" Tobi reached in his pocket and pulled out a box. When he opened it, there was a pair of rings sitting inside. "Tobi finally recovered these rings! That means we can replace the Akatsuki members who have died! You two happen to be the most likely candidates!" Tobi closed the box and put the rings away. "**But tread carefully. I will not hesitate to kill you if you become worthless to me.**" Tobi said menacingly. "Kuro-chan! Konan has agreed to be your mentor! You're going to be just like her and maybe you'll dye your hair blue and get her obsession with origami and…"

Tobi babbled on for a minute before taking a big, gasping breath, "And Wolf you'll be training with Itachi and maybe you'll become emotionless and want to kill Kirdei and talk about everyone's lack of hatred but you won't hit Tobi like Deidara did will you? Tobi wouldn't like that and it would make Tobi very sad."

Wolf and Kuroiaki trembled again. That man was creepy. Between the orange mask and the dual personalities and the possibility that he might just out right kill you at the same time…it could be a little much.

"**Now go my weak subordinates, you have a tough time ahead if you even want to think about becoming full Akatsuki members and you're going to need all of your strength just to survive the rigorous training regimen planed out for you.**" Wolf and Kuroiaki stood and bowed before their lord before turning and quickly leaving.

--

_A few days later_

"Ah geez. Getting to Hakumei is going to be a bit of a pain." Kirdei said as he rubbed the back of his head. "Lord Naruto, what do you think we should do?"

"Do you really have to call me 'Lord Naruto'?"

"Would you prefer Lord Hokage?"

"I would prefer Naruto. And how the hell do you know about me wanting to be Hokage?"

"Bingo book." Kirdei stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Kirdei fished his copy out and tossed it at Naruto.

"You were in the Akatsuki's bingo book since they found out about you."

"Mfnmfmn…ramen…orange…mmncjd…'I'll be Hokage, believe it'? Holy Ramen Gods! Were they recording every word I ever said?"

"Probably. It says you were a pretty emotional kid. Picking at those words probably set you off."

"My god. Did I really say 'believe it' every five seconds?"

"Back to business, Naruto. The most direct route to Hakumei is a straight line through the Land of Rain and right past Amegakure which is exactly where we don't want to go. Hakumei is on the coast of the Land of Fire so we either need to go through the Land of Grass or the Land of Wind and cut through the Land of Rain and hope for the best. Gah, this is such a pain!"

"Let's avoid Konoha if we can, so I'm going to say Land of Wind."

"Maybe we'll pick up some info about your status along the way." Naruto suddenly tensed.

"Kirdei, get your gear, I can see someone approaching and fast!"

"Right!" Naruto was starting to get frustrated. It was as if everyone who has their sights set on killing, maiming, extracting, or otherwise causing his existence to end had gotten together and decided that now was a good time to hit him over and over again.

Within minutes Kirdei was standing next to Kirdei armed for battle. His chakra fluctuations had finally ceased; a problem that had been causing Kirdei to be unable to use jutsu and he could once again activate his Soshigan.

Kirdei had been rather uncomfortable during the time his chakra was unstable. It was as if someone had cut off both his arms. Thankfully he had slept through most of that period.

"Kirdei, can you see them yet?" Naruto asked pulling Kirdei's focus back to the situation.

"**Soshigan!**" Kirdei muttered while putting a little more effort than usual into activating his bloodline. The world suddenly became crystal clear letting Kirdei see everything. "Why can't we ever catch a break? It's that pink-haired Anbu and some other guy traveling with a huge dog."

Naruto gasped. This could be the chance he'd been waiting for. He'd wanted to ask so many questions but the fight had taken up all his concentration! Naruto signaled Kirdei into position.

"Here's hoping for the best."

--

To say Sakura was excited would be an understatement. Somehow the pair who had started several days behind the Akatsuki group had actually caught up to them. Sakura could see their camp from where they were and they were closing in fast. A dot in the distance quickly became two tiny figures which became two ninja standing side by side ready for combat.

Sakura went over the facts again in her head. Two figures? Two ninja? There should have been at least four! Could two of Naruto's captors left and gone their own way? Could she have really been that lucky?

Sakura and Kiba came to a stop several yards away from the pair.

"Hi there!" The Akatsuki agent greeted with a wave while Naruto remained silent. Sakura seethed at the comment. How dare he? Her anger quickly rose to a boiling point.

"We're taking Naruto back." Kiba stated calmly though visibly excited at the prospect of the coming fight. He clearly expected resistance.

"Ok but do you think you could wait awhile and come back? I have some stuff to take care of first beforehand."

Sakura decided not to waste her breath. Actions would clearly speak louder than words with his type.

"Damn you!" She shouted as she charged forward. The agent slipped into a defensive stance as she got closer. 'The idiot!' she thought as she built up chakra into her fist. She pulled her arm back and sent her devastating punch towards one thing between her and Naruto.

He positioned his arm to catch her fist. 'How arrogant could one guy be?'

"Grrah!" Sakura shouted as she prepared to turn her opponent's arm to dust. Her fist connecting with his hand… and nothing happened? All the chakra she had built up suddenly vanished.

"Come on. Can't we talk this out like rational adults?" Kirdei said with a grin. Naruto turned to look at her.

"Sakura…"

--

Well this was a relatively nice easy going chapter over the aftermath of the Twilight Cataclysm. It felt good to get away from the tense battles that usually occur. Well I hope you enjoyed it.

By the way. I have over 19,000 hits on this story. Why do I not have over 19,000 reviews?! This is blasphemy! Ok maybe that's going a bit far but please leave me reviews! Thanks!

**Omake**

This was made at the request of a friend.

--

_Damnit_

"You lack hatred." Itachi admonished a plant.

Wolf felt like beating his head against something hard until he stopped waking up. Not only was his new teacher _blind as a freaking bat_, he also had an obsession with hatred! It was always hatred this, hatred that!

"You lack hatred, Wolf. You need to dedicate yourself to murdering Kirdei, Wolf. Hatred is the way to power, Wolf!"

And it was never actually Wolf he was speaking to! It was a plant, or a rock, or a Tobi, or the Samehada. He was never going to hit Akatsuki level at this rate!

"Wolf, if you truly wish to have power, hatred is the way to go. Sasuke hates me and he gets stronger every time I meet him."

Gah! And Sasuke! He never shuts up about the raven haired traitor!

"And the best way to have hatred is to hate something, or more specifically some_one._ And by someone I mean Kirdei." Itachi said as he put an arm around the poor plant.

"TOBI ISN'T A GOOD BOY! HE IS _THE_ GOOD BOY!" Tobi yelled as he ran through the room.

"Samehada is hungry. Anyone care to make a donation?" Kisame said as he entered the room and looked straight at Wolf.

"…Hatred…"

"You're doing very well, Kuroiaki." Konan said as she entered the room with Kuroiaki.

"Hey Kuro!" Wolf called out.

"Thanks so much Konan-sempai!" Kuroiaki said as she walked right by without acknowledging his existence.

"GOOOOOOOD BOY!"

"…The thing about hatred is."

"Wolf, I want to speak with you about something." Pein stated as he approached the frazzled Ninja. "I will now tell you the true purpose of the Akatsuki….World Peace. We will end fighting by fighting to show everyone just how pointless fighting is…"

That was when Wolf realized something.

'DAMNIT KIRDEI WAS FREAKING RIGHT, AGAIN! I should have just gone and helped the Jinchuriki out. Then everything would be fine! GAH!'

--

"ACHOO!" Kirdei sneezed.

"You getting sick, Kirdei?" Naruto asked as they watched the pink haired Anbu and the man with the dog approach their camp.

"Could be the after effects of that jutsu." Kirdei said with a few sniffles.

"Maybe." Naruto agreed.

--

The End!


	18. Reunion

Long time no see! I apologize for the appearance of Shikamaruitis. I was actually busy finishing up school. I regret taking so long but the good news is I'm getting better and better ideas of how to finish up this story. So that's all I have to ramble about right now. Here it is.

--

_Chapter 17: Reunion_

_Naruto's Mindscape_

Naruto calmly walked forward with a sense of purpose. Reality constantly threatened to pull him free of the dank place but he pushed on nonetheless. Naruto briskly walked towards the hall containing his memories.

As he did he passed the large pile of keys and, without stopping, plucked one from the pile and walked on. He passed hundreds of doors with random markings alluding to what they held inside until he reached the one he was looking for.

On the door was a single white circle.

Naruto shoved the key into the lock and twisted causing it to click satisfyingly. He gripped the door handle and turned.

Then he heard a voice. His concentration broke and he vanished from the hallways.

The door with the circle on it creaked and slowly it opened just a bit and a mist began to flow out.

"_Sakura…_"

--

Kirdei fought the urge to look over at Naruto. He had apparently remembered her, at least a little bit. Unfortunately Sakura was quickly working through the fact that her attack hadn't gone as planned.

"Truce? Parley? Anything?" Kirdei offered to no effect. Sakura continued to stare at her fist in his hand. The hand that by all rights should be nonexistent at best and yet his arm was still connected to his shoulder.

That's when Kirdei saw a look of acceptance flash across her features. She slowly looked him in the eyes and Kirdei was about to let out a sigh of relief when he felt her other fist connect with his face. Kirdei flew back several feet before hitting the ground and skidding; messing up his carefully constructed seal.

Sakura began flipping through the hand seals.

"Ninja Art: Temporary Paraly…"

In an instant Kiba was on top of Kirdei with a kunai to his throat while Naruto had maneuvered behind Sakura and was now restraining her.

"Whoa easy there, dog boy!" Kirdei said, not resisting in case Kiba decided to give him a messy end.

"Better shut up if you know what's good for you.

"Let…go…of …me… Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she squirmed in his grasp. When he didn't do as she said she began kicking wildly.

"Sakura tell him to back off."

"Let…go!" She said ignoring him.

"Tell your friend to back off now, Sakura."

"Hell no! Don't you know who he is? He's with the Akatsuki!" Sakura shouted.

"I know. Now, one last time. Tell him to back off."

"But…why? Why let this guy go? He's in a group trying to kill you." Sakura said; her voice considerably softer.

"No I'm not!"

_THWACK_

"Ow!"

"I said shut up."

"Sakura, he's telling the truth. He parted with the Akatsuki to save my life. They were leading me into a trap where my…resident could be evicted."

Naruto felt something wet hit his arm. Sakura turned her head to look at him. She had tears in her eyes.

"Sakura…"

Sakura suddenly spun in his grasp and tackled him to the ground with a hug and began crying into his shoulder.

"You idiot…w-we were so worried about you."

"Ah…hmm." Naruto said before wrapping his arms around her. "I think I've missed you."

Kiba turned his head and watched.

"Lucky bastard." He and Kirdei muttered at the same time. Kiba suddenly noticed Kirdei had slipped passed his blade and was looking at the pair.

Kiba hit him over the back of the head knocking him out cold.

--

"So you don't remember me at all?" Kiba asked while staring at the newly made fire.

"Not a thing. Doesn't mean I won't, given enough time. I'm only just remembering things about Sakura and she was apparently my teammate for years." Naruto replied.

"Don't say it like that. You _were_ my teammate. You make it sound like it might not be true." Sakura said as she began placing skewered fish in the flames.

"Sorry. It's hard you know."

"Ugh. The hell happened?" Kirdei moaned. "And why am I tied up!"

"Quit your whining, Akatsuki. If I had it my way you'd be dead or worse right now." Kiba snarled.

"I told you I'm not a part of Akatsuki anymore!"

"Yeah right!"

"Would you two shut up!?" Sakura yelled.

"Naruto, bail me out here!"

"She said shut up moron!" Kiba yelled.

"She was talking to you too, dog breath!"

"Shut…up…" Sakura growled as she shook her fist menacingly. Naruto sighed.

"Sorry, Kirdei. They wouldn't let you go untied and I wouldn't have been able to escape with your dead weight on my back."

"Oh and don't forget the glomping Sakura gave you." Kiba said nudging Naruto's side causing Sakura to blush.

"Kirdei, you said you wanted to 'borrow' Naruto for a little while." Sakura ventured, unsubtly changing the subject. "Assuming you aren't passing him off to the Akatsuki, what do you want with him?"

"I needed a witness. As far as I can tell I'm the last Tatsumaki. Since I don't plan to let the clan die with me, a new clan head needs to be instated."

"Meaning you?" Naruto asked.

"Meaning me. I need to go to my clan's home to complete the ritual and to collect a few things that were left behind…if looters haven't gotten there first. As soon as that was done we were going to try and find out Naruto's status with Konoha before returning."

"Why did you leave the Akatsuki?" Kiba asked.

"He was my excuse to leave." Kirdei said pointing to Naruto. "He befriended me before I realized what was happening. Not to mention I had a higher chance of survival if I joined with him rather than abandoning at any other time."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura growled.

"I…betrayed…Akatsuki. They are going to come and try to kill me. He is a Jinchuriki. They are going to come and capture him in order to extract the fox, killing him. Together we have a better chance of surviving."

"Assuming we let you live." Kiba said as he began removing a Kunai.

"Kiba, stop." Sakura said rubbing her eyes. "So what you're saying is that you're going to Konoha as soon as you complete this trip, right?" Kirdei and Naruto nodded. "I guess we will have to accompany you then."

"Sakura!" Kiba yelled. Sakura scooted over and whispered in you his ear.

"We're missing-nin now. If we come back with them we'll be returning a MIA Anbu Captain and a former member of the Akatsuki, who will no doubt pay a visit to the Anbu Torture and Interrogation Squad. So it won't hurt to take a little side trip. Afraid?"

"I'm not afraid but I see what you mean." Kiba sighed.

"The fish are burning." Kirdei said.

"What?"

"He said the fish are burning." Naruto said between bites of a perfectly cooked fish. Kiba and Sakura jumped as they tried to retrieve their burning dinner as Kirdei and Naruto laughed at their expense.

"You guys should have been paying attention!"

"You are so dead, Tatsumaki!" Kiba yelled.

--

_Amegakure_

Wolf let his head hit the counter of the cheap little bar he was in. He was exhausted beyond anything he had ever experienced before. On the other hand he had nearly doubled in strength in the last couple weeks.

'Lord Tobi wasn't kidding when he said the training would be rigorous.'

"What can I get you?" The bartender asked.

"Bowl of rice and your cheapest sake."

"Aren't you a little young to be drinking?"

"Aren't you a little old to be not dead?" Wolf said with a glare.

"R-r-right away, sir!" Wolf nearly fell asleep right then when he felt the counter thump next to him.

"Hey, Kuro."

"Hey, Wolfy."

That was the worst part of training. This was only the second time he'd seen her since Kirdei had abandoned them and neither of them had enough energy to do more than mumble out a pathetic greeting.

"Hey, barkeep! Give me what he's having!" Kuroiaki yelled out as best as she could.

"Yes, miss!"

"Wolf…"

"Just a little while longer, honey. Training's almost done." Wolf muttered weakly. Hopefully the food would boost his energy and they could have a little alone time.

"Here you go, sir and ma'am!" The barkeep said as he set down the rice and sake. Wolf groaned as he pushed himself up. Wolf grabbed a pair of chopsticks, opened them, and pick up his first bite when he felt a rush of air.

"Wolf, time for training."

"Damn it all." Wolf sat down his chopsticks and followed Itachi out the door. But not before putting the door into the neighboring village.

"Please don't cause any more trouble." The bartender whimpered.

"Would you just shut up?" Kuroiaki muttered and began eating. It was like Wolf said, just a few more weeks.

--

Naruto silently watched the fire while trying to keep awake. It was his turn to stand watch and even though it was easier splitting watch four ways instead of two it still was very hard to keep awake.

"Still awake, Naruto?" Sakura said as she sat next to him.

"I should be saying the same thing to you Sakura. You have third watch not second." Naruto said, turning his head so he could see her angelic face. Sakura looked as him for a second, smiled and placed a small kiss on his lips.

"I just wanted to say I missed you." She said with a wink before turning and going back to her tent. "Good night, Naruto."

Naruto immediately closed his eyes and began meditating. He had a demon fox he needed to see about recovering memories involving a certain someone.

--

And so Kiba and Sakura have joined Naruto and Kirdei (if only to save their own hides) and are on the way to Hakumeigakure. Wolf and Kuroiaki are in the middle of intense training from their respective mentor/slave drivers and are getting more powerful with each passing day! It's only a matter of time before the Akatsuki comes to collect Naruto. Will they be prepared? Or will Naruto fall like every Jinchuriki before? Who knows?

Once again I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. It was really hard to write!

Fortunately I have the rest of the summer with nothing to do so it I will finish it before boot camp!

And Last but not least (maybe)

**Jutsu Dictionary**

Ninja Art: Temporary Paraly…- **Ninja Art: Temporary Paralysis Jutsu** This technique is used to cause an opponent to lose the advantage of movement, freezing them in their tracks. This is considered a signature jutsu of all ANBU members. Definition provided by .


	19. Arrival

Yay! Motivation and time to write abounds for this young author!

--

_Chapter 18: Arrival_

_Three weeks later_

Wolf and Kuroiaki knelt in a dark room lit only by a single candle. The past month or so had been a living hell consisting of nothing but constant training. Yet here they were. They had survived all the training exercises put before them by their mentors and were all the stronger for it.

"**Well done.**" Tobi said as he stepped out of the shadows. "**It seems as though my investment in you two wasn't misplaced. Though there's still time for you to prove me wrong.**" Tobi continued walking forward until he was on a couple feet in front of them. Crouching he said, "**It's time for your final assessment. Your final test before being accepted as full Akatsuki members. Normally Pein would be giving the test but I…insisted.**"

Tobi stood and began walking back a few paces."**You will be accompanying Kisame and Me on a hunt. An unfortunate series of events allowed the Eight-Tailed beast to escape us during your scuffle with Kirdei. You will assist us in capturing it. Poor performance during the battle that will likely occur will result in…failure.**" Tobi stopped and casually glanced over his shoulder.

Wolf and Kuroiaki shivered. Not only because of the chilling tone of finality he used but because not once during the entire conversation did he switch personalities. He was deadly serious.

"We understand, Lord Tobi." They said in perfect unison.

"**Good. Now go prepare yourselves, we leave at dawn.**"

Kuroiaki and Wolf vanished with little more than a hiss of air to mark their passing.

--

Naruto sighed as he turned over in his sleeping bag. The last few weeks since they ran into Kiba and Sakura had been interesting to say the least.

For starters, Sakura had randomly decided to talk to him during his watch and then kissed him! While it was very nice and warm and lovely and …

Naruto shook his head to get back on track. The pink-haired beauty was very distracting at best and he could lose himself forever in her eyes at worst.

That simple event had lead to a frustrating obstacle that nothing but time could allow him to overcome.

'_Hey, Fox! I want you to help me unlock my memories of Sakura like you did with the Akatsuki and Sasuke!' Naruto had yelled at the giant cage in his mind._

_The being inside shifted around a bit before settling down._

'_Hey! Don't ignore me you stupid fox!'_

'_**It can't be done.**__' The fox grumbled out._

'_What are you talking about? You've done it before.'_

'_**And do you remember the unimaginable pain?**__'_

'_That doesn't matter! This is really important!'_

'_**It is impossible.**__'_

'_I'm demanding rent in the form of memories right now!'_

'_**SILENCE! INSUFFERABLE BRAT! YOU DON'T REALIZE THE DAMAGE DONE BY WHAT I DID. THE CHANCE OF YOU DYING BY NOT KNOWING WHAT I GAVE YOU WAS ONLY SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THE CHANCE OF YOU DYING BY THE SIDE EFFECTS OF THE PROCESS I USED TO OPEN THE DOORS. I CAN NO LONGER FORCE MEMORIES TO REVEAL THEMSELVES WITHOUT RISKING BOTH YOUR DEATH AS WELL AS MY OWN.**__"_

_Naruto silently left the Fox's cage room._

_--_

Fortunately the memories were coming back on their own. But they were coming back so achingly slow.

He could recall enough memories about her to realize that he truly did love the pink-haired beauty. And she obviously felt something for him otherwise she wouldn't have kissed him! Right?

But since that day she became extremely shy around him, sometimes going as far as to avoid him. And that bothered him the most.

'What is up with her?' Naruto thought silently.

And then there was Kiba and Kirdei.

If it wasn't one thing with those two it was another. Constantly bickering, 'Sparring' until they can barely walk. Not even the threat of a Sakura beating could deter those two.

Sometimes he found it hard to believe he was traveling with high-level shinobi.

Naruto shook his head once more. He needed to stop worrying about these things. There's no doubt that both Akatsuki and Anbu Root were still after him not to mention any random bandits they might run into along the way so he needed sleep.

On the positive side they were once again in the Land of Fire. So at least he didn't have to trudge through the heavy rains of the Land of Rain or the scorching sun and desert heat of the Land of Wind anymore.

Naruto's mind slowly turned to more pleasant things like ramen as he drifted off to sleep.

--

_Konohagakure_

Kakashi once again found himself in the Ichiraku ramen stand eating a bowl of miso ramen. Things weren't going so well in the past month since he had engineered Sakura's escape. He was playing dangerously close to the line with that one. Should anyone discover that he was the one that knocked out the guards long enough for Sakura to slip out…he'd be lucky to survive Lady Tsunade's wrath long enough to see his court marshal.

With Kiba gone one of the most effective tracking teams had been effectively disabled. Hinata had broken down completely and had to be removed from duty temporarily and Shino could only be so effective as a single unit. That meant he had to be used as a reserve unit to fill in on teams that had teammates out for various reasons.

Sakura's absence was even more devastating. Enough to make Kakashi believe that he probably shouldn't have assisted Sakura in her escape. After several years of training under Lady Tsunade, Sakura's own abilities in the medical field surpassed Tsunade's. The only thing keeping Tsunade from giving Sakura the position of Chief of Staff at the hospital, besides her missing-nin status, was experience. And so with her gone the medical staff were having a tough time of it.

Kakashi quickly finished his bowl as he heard a thump signaling the passing out of poor Ayame. She seemed to do that every time he ate there. Another thump told him that for some reason her father, Teuchi, had followed suit. Now that was creepy. Kakashi never considered himself ugly but he wasn't that good looking was he?

Kakashi decided to leave the mystery of his looks for another day as he pulled out the final volume of the Make-out series and began wandering.

'Things just seem to get worse and worse don't they Lord Jiraiya?' Kakashi thought as he skimmed the book. Konoha was just barely getting back on its feet when Naruto returned from his training trip with Jiraiya. Shortly after that Jiraiya died during an infiltration mission. A few years after that Naruto disappeared without a word. Plus the all too difficult to swallow mortality rate of shinobi. And Lady Hokage was also getting on in her years. She was still respected and feared for her prowess but she was far past her prime.

Konoha needed a Hero or a group of Heroes badly. Something to boost morale among the soldiers. The Sannin had done that for his generation and if one such group didn't show up soon it could be bad for Konoha. Peace could only be maintained as long as countries feared you enough to not risk attacking and sometimes even that wasn't enough.

It would only be a matter of time before someone got bold.

And that's why he let Sakura go. Naruto was exactly what his generation needed right now. Assuming his personality hadn't changed much he could easily be the Legendary Hero Konoha shinobi needed to regain their morale.

Kakashi leaned against the post he had tied Naruto to so long and yet not so long ago. Apparently his feet had decided it was time for another visit.

'Hey, Obito. Rin. Long time no see.'

--

Naruto stretched and yawned loudly as he sat up. The wonderful smell of roasting fish suddenly caught his attention.

"Morning, Naruto!" Kiba yelled happily.

"Hurry up! Breakfast is almost ready." Kirdei said as he carefully turned the fish in the fire.

"Morning, Naruto." Sakura said quietly; a light blush tinting her cheeks.

Naruto decided he was going to have to talk with her. As far as he could remember she was never this shy. Especially around Sasuke.

Naruto quickly slapped himself on the cheeks to wake himself up and avoid depressing thoughts.

Especially concerning the mission he was given. He hadn't told Kirdei but he now remembered just why he was no longer in Konoha.

His mission was an ultimatum. Sasuke would either willingly return home of be executed immediately. He reluctantly agreed to take the mission. He didn't have a set time frame but he couldn't stall forever. And since his last encounter with Sasuke had confirmed his denial to return peacefully he would now have to be killed on sight.

"Hey, Naruto. Don't go spacing out on us. You do want breakfast, right?" Kirdei asked. Naruto scratched the back of his head and gave a sheepish grin before getting dressed in record time.

--

Naruto couldn't stop staring at the sky. Something was very wrong. The sky hadn't changed color since he had woken up. The sun continued rising as they began traveling but the sky remained a very nice tint of orange and yellow rather than the standard blue. Just as he was about to open his mouth Kirdei looked back and smiled.

"Guys welcome to the outskirts of the former Hakumeigakure. The Village Hidden in the Twilight. So named because the sky he is eternally stuck in twilight with the exception of night."

"So it's never actually day here? Only twilight and night?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. Dawn, Dusk, Night. All day, every day. I hope you'll excuse the mess." Kirdei said quietly as the remains of the village came into view.

--

Kuroiaki couldn't help but feel as though the final test was a set up of sorts. She had expected the journey to be a long and difficult one. They had traveled one single day into the Land of Grass and the practically stumbled right on the beast.

Well the beast's Jinchuriki, anyway. At that point it became an all out brawl. The Jinchuriki displayed an awesome amount of power and control over the beast's chakra and a month ago it would have slaughtered her without even exerting itself. However with the combined power of Lord Tobi, Lord Kisame, Wolf and Her own strength they were quickly overpowering it.

"**Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!**" Kisame roared. Water in the shape of sharks exploded out of the ground and streaked towards the smirking kid. Powerful as he was the Jinchuriki had taken the bait. Kuroiaki pulled several origami shuriken out of her bag and tossed them while making a hand sign.

"**Ninja Art: Origami Evisceration!**" The paper shuriken suddenly picked up speed and flew towards the Jinchuriki who was still in mid-dodge. The paper hit him in the stomach and cut through him like a hot knife through butter.

The kid snarled as his guts began hanging out of his opened belly and he violently shoved them in as chakra began blazing around him. Within seconds the wound had sealed itself shut and his features were becoming more demonic.

That was when Wolf appeared behind him and stabbed his new katana through the boy's shoulder and into the ground pinning him.

Before he could react Tobi pulled the Jinchuriki and the sword out of the ground with one hand.

Both Kuroiaki and Wolf turned away. They were emotionally tough shinobi like they were trained to be but sometimes there were things you avoided seeing if you could.

--

The next morning Kuroiaki and Wolf knelt once more in the dark room with a single candle.

"**I couldn't be more pleased right now. You both performed very well on your test.**" Tobi said as he strode forward. A pair of attendants followed behind him. "**You both have passed my test to enter you in to the Akatsuki and I would like to present you with a gift.**"

The attendants walked forward and each placed a large box in front of Wolf and Kuroiaki.

"Well go on open it! Tobi can't wait to see the looks on your faces!" Tobi cheered loudly.

Wolf and Kuroiaki lifted the lid of their respective boxes. A grin nearly split their faces in two.

A small ring box lay open revealing one of the rings each Akatsuki member wore on top of a black cloak. Underneath the cloak and ring was the signature Akatsuki straw hat with bells.

Wolf hugged his new cloak with glee. His dream of joining the Akatsuki was now a reality.

Kuroiaki was less excited about becoming a full Akatsuki member and more excited about the chance to spend time with her boyfriend and was gazing at him; barely able to restrain herself from tackling him right then and there.

"**I hate to break up your celebrations but it is time for your…graduation ceremony. So put on your new cloak and ring and follow. We have a long day still ahead.**"

--

Author's notes

There you have it chapter 18! I hope you enjoyed reading it!

I'll go ahead and announce officially that the main pairing here is NaruSaku.

I'm not sure how much romance I'll be able to fit into this story but I will try to include some, but this was listed under adventure not romance.

See you next time!

**Jutsu Dictionary**

**Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu-** One of Kisame's signature moves. It creates sharks out of water that race towards the target and hits them with powerful blasts of water.

**Ninja Art: Origami Evisceration-** This jutsu causes origami shuriken to streak toward the target and slashes them with the same sharpness of a metal blade. The target is usually the stomach of the person but will cause damage regardless of where it strikes.


	20. Rituals

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or The Bourne identity**

_Chapter 19: Rituals_

_Konohagakure: Hokage's Tower_

The door to Tsunade's office suddenly slammed open.

"What is it, Captain? I have a lot of paperwork to do. Unless this is extremely important take it up with Shizune." Tsunade said to the newcomer without looking up.

"I'm surprised to see you actually doing work instead of sleeping." The Anbu Captain said as he walked towards her desk. Dropping a folder in front of her he said, "We've received reports that a group traveling through the Land of Fire has to members matching Sakura and Kiba's profile."

"What?!" She said grabbing the folder and flipping through it.

"Also in the group are two blondes, one matching the profile of the one I battled not too long ago." Neji said as he removed his mask.

"Kirdei Tatsumaki…Kiba and Sakura wouldn't have teamed up with Akatsuki would they? They were close friends of Naruto's. What about the other two members of Tatsumaki's group?"

"The other two members weren't present in the group but it is likely that the remaining blond haired man is Naruto."

"Do we know where they are headed?"

"They are headed east. If they keep going that direction they'll end up at the ruins of the former Hakumeigakure."

"The Twilight village? Why would they be headed there?"

"We aren't sure but Kirdei and the absent members of his team are from that village. The only known survivors, actually." Tsunade rubbed her temples while processing all the new information.

"Alright. Captain, assemble the remaining members of your team. Your next mission is to intercept that group and bring them into custody. Make sure you bring Sakura and Kiba alive and Kirdei if possible. If he resists to the point where you have to kill him, don't hesitate."

"And Naruto?"

"Same as with Kiba and Sakura."

"Yes, Lady Hokage." Neji said with a bow.

"Dismissed." Neji vanished.

--

_Hakumeigakure_

A gloomy feeling settled over the group as Kirdei led them into the former village. The remains of buildings looked like skeletons and it was as if the ghosts of the villagers were watching from the shadows. The orange sky gave everything a red tint almost as though the city were soaked in blood.

Kirdei hadn't said a word since he 'welcomed' them into the village and no one wanted to ask the questions forming in their minds. Kirdei just continued trudging forward towards a destination only he knew.

"Psst, Sakura." Kiba whispered.

"What."

"This place is kind of eerie. What if he's leading us into a trap? Weren't his buddies from the same village? I mean we don't even know where he's leading us. He could…" Kiba managed to say before she smacked him over the head.

"You idiot. Be more respectful. I mean look at the guy. I don't trust him but don't you think he'd be acting differently if he was leading us into a trap? This must be a place of extreme sorrow for him…I mean imagine how you would feel if Konoha were to be destroyed and you had to walk through the rubble and know you were the only Inuzuka left?"

Yeah but he's with the Akatsuki…he could easily be crazy enough to not care about stuff like that. Maybe he's the one…" A kunai suddenly grazed his cheek. Ahead Kirdei had stopped and his arm was pointed directly at Kiba.

"Not…another…word…" Kirdei said in a low voice; his entire body was trembling.

"S-sorry." He stuttered out and they continued forward.

A short while later they arrived at their destination. A large gate with the kanji for tornado branded on to it was partially opened. As they entered Kirdei winced as he looked at the destroyed buildings.

"Kirdei…" Naruto whispered and went to place a hand on his shoulder but Kirdei continued on.

"This was the Tatsumaki district. We were a large clan so the elders decided to give us an area to live for just our family. We refused to accept but they had already set it up so we opened the doors to the general public. That gate back there would always be open except in emergencies." Kirdei said quietly. "We're going towards the main clan house. Hopefully it's relatively intact."

Unfortunately it wasn't. As they arrived they found half the building had collapsed. Kirdei ignored the damage and began walking up the pile of rubble to find a way in.

"Kirdei, you don't seriously expect us to go in there? We could get hurt! The building could collapse in at anytime!" Sakura shouted at him.

"I don't expect any of you except Naruto to do anything. Naruto has already consented to help me." Sakura glanced over at Naruto who had also begun scaling the rubble.

"You worry too much, Sakura!" Kiba said as he leapt up the pile. Sakura sighed and began climbing.

"I swear if someone gets hurt…"

--

_Amegakure_

"**Ah good your ready.**" Tobi said as the pair of shinobi walked up in their new cloaks.

"Yes, Lord Tobi." Wolf and Kuroiaki said in unison.

"No need to call Tobi 'Lord' anymore we're on the same level now…**Well as Akatsuki members anyway…**So just call me Tobi!"

The pair said nothing.

"Aw you're no fun. Anyway just go down those stairs and we'll get started soon, okay?"

"Right." Wolf said as he led Kuroiaki down the stairs.

"Lord Mizukage, is it wise to let them be part of this ritual? We are sealing the eight tailed beast." Kisame said as he approached Tobi.

"**We'll see how they do. If they can't handle something like this they really don't deserve to be full Akatsuki members. So you might just have to dispose of them.**"

"Heheh, sounds fun. Can't I play with them a little first?"

"**Do whatever you want as long as they die…unless they do pass this little test.**"

"Well we win either way." Kisame began laughing as he walked down the stairs.

"**Yes, I win either way.**" Tobi chuckled before walking down to the sealing chamber.

--

_Hakumeigakure: Tatsumaki District_

Kirdei grunted as he landed inside his former home. As he suspected looters had cleaned out this part of the clan house.

'Hopefully the seal holds strong…' Kirdei thought as Naruto, Kiba, and Sakura landed next to him.

"What a d…" Kiba began before Sakura pounded his face. "What a nice place…" Kiba said before going quiet. Naruto knelt down and began poking him.

"Come on. We have things to do so we can get out of here." Kirdei said. "So stop messing around."

"Why the rush?" Sakura asked as she looked around.

"Look it's been over a month since we parted ways with the Akatsuki. No doubt Wolf and Kuroiaki know that I would want to come straight here to get the things I left behind. So either they've already been here and what I came for is gone, or they aren't too far behind us so we need to get in and out as quickly as possible." Kirdei said as he began checking along the walls.

"Right."

"Now, help me out by looking for a seal of some sort." Sakura didn't say a word as she got to work.

Eventually Kiba recovered and he and Naruto joined in the search. A couple of hours of searching revealed nothing but an ordinary house.

"Kirdei are you sure there's a seal around here?" Kiba said as he slumped to the floor near the main entrance. The rest of the group followed suit.

"Well there should be." He said as his stomach groaned.

"Geez what idiot would carve into the floor? It's really uncomfortable!" Kiba complained as he rolled over to glare at Kirdei.

"Kiba shut…wait you're a genius." Kirdei shouted as he stood up. "I never noticed it because it's always been here! Everyone back up!" Kirdei grinned as he looked at the intricate carving on the floor. Pulling out his kunai he slashed his palm and placed it in the very center of the carving.

Nothing happened.

"Moron. There's nothing here!" Kiba shouted. Kirdei stood up and looked around.

"Something must be wrong. That should have worked!"

"Kirdei, over here!" Naruto called out. "There's a big chunk of floor missing over here!"

Kirdei groaned as he saw the damaged part of the floor. Someone had deliberately removed part of the seal on the floor.

"Oh, damn it all!" Kirdei yelled and he sat down and began pulling books out of his pack. "It could take years to figure out what's missing!" As Kirdei began looking through his books on sealing, Naruto started walking around the missing section of the floor.

"Hmm…" Naruto mumbled. Suddenly he grabbed Kirdei hand swiped some blood from the still bleeding wounds and began scribbling in the empty section.

"Hey, what the hell!" Kirdei cried out. Despite Kirdei's protest Naruto continued scribbling.

_--_

_"What are you doing, pervy sage?" Naruto asked Jiraiya. The tall white haired man said nothing as he pulled out a small vile filled with red liquid. "What's in that vial? Come on! I want to know why you decided to stop in this boring ghost town."_

"_Blood." Jiraiya said, absolutely serious._

"_B-b-blood? That's seriously creepy, Jiraiya-sensei." Naruto said with a shiver._

"_It was a gift from a friend. His blood is the only thing that can activate this seal. Well that and blood from other members of his now distinct clan. I'm just here to make sure nothing's been taken. This is also a good time for a lesson on seals." Jiraiya opened the vial and the wiped blood on his hand._

"_Naruto, I'm going in alone. While I'm inside I want you to destroy part of the seal. Only a small part though. If anyone's survived they will probably need to access the seal."_

"_Right."_

"_**Seal Release!**__"_

_--_

"Try it now." Naruto said as he finished scribbling in the dirt. Kirdei looked at Naruto in amazement.

"Are you the same guy who was bashing my sealing skills not too long ago?" He asked.

"I told you afterwards that sealing was almost a cool as ninjutsu!" Naruto said with a sheepish grin. Kirdei shook his head as he moved to the center of the enormous seal.

"**Seal Release!**" He said as he placed his hand in the center of the seal. The seal suddenly lit up the dark room with a bright purple light causing the group to shield their eyes. When it finally died down the group heard a click and a door opened in the wall. "Alright this is it. We need to hurry up and get this done. We may not have much time left."

Naruto grinned. "Let's name ourselves a clan head!'

--

_Amegakure_

When Wolf and Kuroiaki entered the sealing chamber the Sealing Statue was already summoned. They were awed by the sheer enormity of it.

"Now let's begin." Pein said as they entered. Kisame stepped next to them and grinned.

"Prove to me your worth or you're gonna be shark bait." He said with a grin before jumping up to his position, causing the pair to shiver.

"**Go on. This is what you've wanted for a long time, isn't it Wolf? This is the true test of your abilities. Prove your worth.**" Madara said as he walked pass the pair before taking his place on the statue.

"You ready?" Wolf asked. Kuroiaki was quiet for a second as she stared at the Jinchuriki lying on the floor.

"Kuro?" Wolf prodded

"Let's get it over with." She said before jumping up to her position. Wolf had hoped she would be move enthusiastic about being an Akatsuki member but he supposed she was just overwhelmed. He shrugged and took his position on the statue.

"Well this is the first time we've done a sealing with all active members present." Kisame noted with a grin. Pein nodded and began forming hand signs.

"_**Sealing Jutsu: Nine Phantom Dragons Seal!!**_"

--

_Hakumeigakure_

A single candle suddenly flared to life lighting the dark room. Then another one lit up, followed by another and another until the entire room was completely lit. Naruto quietly whispered the words that Kirdei had given him to say as he lit each candle.

"竜巻の風は永遠に強いです…" Naruto whispered as he lit the final candle.

On the other side of the room near the entrance Kirdei stood shirtless. The Final Flames seal which usually adorned his stomach had been wiped away leaving nothing but the scars of battles past. Before him sat the chair that each clan head had sat in at one time or another since they had settled down in Hakumei. Sakura stepped in front of him and walked to one side of the room where a black sleeveless coat with the kanji for wind on the back in electric blue hung from a special rack along with several other articles of clothing.

Kirdei had been stunned beyond words when he had discovered the coat. It had been a symbol of leadership for him since he was a small child and he first saw his grandfather wearing it.

His father had told him that long ago it had been given to the clan by one of its allies as a peace offering. Since then the clan head would always wear it.

It should have disappeared along with his grandfather when the destruction of Hakumei occurred. His grandfather must have foreseen the end of his life and left it for anyone who survived. That had hurt Kirdei deeply.

Naruto turned to face the center of the room as Kirdei strode forward and knelt down. Naruto sliced his finger as he walked over and began writing the seals required to complete the ceremony in his own blood.

Kiba could only watch until it would be his turn to help the one he didn't trust to take charge of his clan of one.

--

_Amegakure_

Phantom dragons exploded out of the mouth of the giant statue and shot straight for the Jinchuriki. The sudden noise and extreme chakra drain on the newest members almost startled them enough to disrupt their concentration.

The Jinchuriki was consumed by the dragons and lifted high in to the air. The Jinchuriki's scream quickly filled the air as the demon started to depart from his body.

"Hold on tight Kiddies. It's gonna be a looong three days!" Kisame said with a laugh.

"Aww, don't tease them Kisame! Tobi thinks they'll have a hard enough time without being heckled! Tobi should know as this is Tobi's first sealing as well!"

"Enough, if you don't focus you'll lose control of the jutsu and that could ruin everything." Pein commanded.

"Aww, Leader is so bossy."

--

_**Hakumeigakure**_

Naruto drew the final seal on Kirdei's chest and began making the hand signs necessary to complete that part of the ritual. As he finished he quickly cut his palm and placed it on the center on Kirdei's chest.

"**Ninja Art: Tornado Seal!**" The seal that extended out from Kirdei's chest to cover most of the room's floor came to life and began closing in on a single spot. Kirdei gritted his teeth as pain coursed through his body. Finally the jutsu ended and the kanji for Tornado appeared across his chest.

"Son of a…" Kirdei said as he slumped over. Naruto knelt down and helped Kirdei to sit up. "Didn't think it would hurt that bad."

"No time to stop. We still have to finish up." Naruto reminded him.

"Yeah, I know just give me a second…okay." Kirdei said as he pushed himself to his feet. "Alright let's finish up." Kirdei said as he slowly made his way to the clan head chair. As he arrived Sakura helped him pull on his fishnet shirt before he sat down.

"Kirdei Tatsumaki," Sakura said, "You are about to become head of your clan. That means you will be responsible for the safety and well being of each and every member even at the cost of your own life. Do you believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can fulfill this duty?"

"I have no doubts that I can and will." Sakura nodded and stepped back as Kiba moved forward.

"Kirdei Tatsumaki, as the head of a ninja clan you will likely take up residence in one of the various hidden villages that populate this continent. In our world of lies and deception, absolute loyalty to one's village is imperative for a village to survive." Kiba began, "Can you hold yourself and your clan to that standard? And further than that can you turn in one of your own if their loyalty becomes questionable and possibly threatening to the well being of the village and your clan?"

"Loyalty is important to the Tatsumaki. I will not tolerate anything less than absolute loyalty to the clan and the village." Kirdei replied. Kiba stared Kirdei down for a few seconds as if trying to detect a lie in his voice before nodding and stepping back. Naruto stepped forward.

"Do either of you have further questions to this man's integrity?" Both Kiba and Sakura shook their heads.

"Then here's the final question. Kirdei Tatsumaki, there is no such thing as a one man clan. A clan is a group of people dedicated to the well being of each other. A clan is a _family."_ Naruto gave Kirdei a particularly serious look as he said family. "For the first time since your clan began it has been reduced to a single member. Will you work towards creating a family that will uphold the ideals you have sworn yourself to on this day? And know that if you have lied about anything here today, including this question, the seal placed on you today will take your life."

"I swear I will work towards creating a family that will uphold the ideals I've sworn to today. I have not lied in any way, shape, or form and if I have may this seal end my life." Kirdei said.

"Are there any here who oppose Kirdei Tatsumaki's ascension to clan head?" Naruto asked. "Then I, Naruto Uzumaki, approve of Kirdei Tatsumaki's ascension to clan head."

"I, Sakura Haruno, approve of Kirdei Tatsumaki's ascension to clan head." Sakura said. Kiba said nothing as he met Kirdei's gaze and it was evident unseen words were exchanged between the two.

"I, Kiba Inuzuka, approve of Kirdei Tatsumaki's ascension to clan head." Kiba said.

"With the approval of three witnesses let it be known that Kirdei Tatsumaki is now head of the Tatsumaki clan until a time comes where he sees fit to pass on leadership to another or he passes from this life. Accept now this cloak and wear it with honor." Naruto said as Sakura held out the cloak. Kirdei stood, accepted the cloak and put it on.

"Thank you my friends." Kirdei said warmly. "Without you none of this…"

_Click_

"What was that?" Kiba said drawing a kunai. Behind the clan head chair the sound of gears turning sounded and a door slid open.

"That is where I will be going tomorrow to claim some items left for the clan head. I'll have to go it alone so you guys are welcome to make use of what's left of the clan house. But for tonight let's rest." Kirdei said before falling over.

"Kirdei!" Sakura yelled as she rushed over to him. After running a diagnostics jutsu she sighed with relief. "He's just asleep."

"Here, let's move him upstairs and lay him on his sleeping bag. He's exhausted." Naruto said.

"He's not the only one!" Kiba said with a laugh when he noticed Akamaru had curled up in a corner and fallen asleep.

--

_Three days later_

Wolf and Kuroiaki jumped to the floor and leaned against each other for support.

"**Well done. I see my trust was well placed. Unfortunately our work isn't over. Tomorrow you two will accompany one of Pein's bodies to capture the Nine-Tailed Fox's Jinchuriki.**"

Wolf groaned.

"Why so soon, Lord Tobi?" Wolf asked.

"**Call me Madara from now on. And let me ask you this. If Kirdei had the chance to go anywhere in the world, where do you think he would go first?**"

"Hakumei…he's gone to Hakumei even though we had agreed never to go back." Kuroiaki said as Wolf gritted his teeth.

"We'll be ready at dawn."

--

I apologize for the delay, life has been really busy recently. And here I thought graduation meant things would be laid back and relaxed for a little while. Oh well I'm still aiming to have this story finished before boot camp so keep on the lookout because the next chapter is on it's way.

40 days till Boot camp.

**Translation-**

竜巻の風は永遠に強いです – This roughly translates to "The winds of the Tornado are forever strong." Literally it means "Winds of a/the Tornado strong eternally." Or so the online translator tells me.


	21. The Seventh Path of Pein

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or The Bourne Identity

_Chapter 20: The Seventh Path of Pein_

Kirdei groaned and tried to pull his blanket over his head as a bright light hit him in the face.

"Oh, no you don't!" Someone yelled before he felt something jab him in the side.

"Just a few more minutes…" he groaned.

"Hell no! You've been asleep for three freakin' days! Get the hell up!"

"Shut up Kiba…" Kirdei mumbled as he lay still for a second. In a blur of motion Kirdei tackled Kiba and yelled. "How long!?"

"Three days." Naruto said as he walked in the room. "I get the feeling that you really like sleeping."

"Damn it. I've got to get going!" Kirdei yelled as he began running around in a panic. "How could you guys let me sleep that long?" Kirdei asked as he pulled his shirt on.

"Actually we've done the same thing every day. Kiba yells at you, then jabs you a few times in the side, then he gets bored and leaves. You're worse than me when it comes to sleep."

"Doesn't matter now. What's done is done. It could take me a few days to get everything I need together so you guys are going to have to keep an eye out for the Akatsuki. There's no doubt in my mind that they will come for us eventually."

"You're expecting them to hit us here?" Naruto said.

"If they can, they will. Wolf, Kuroiaki, and I made a pact to never return here until we were ready to rebuild Hakumeigakure. Wolf won't be happy once he learns I've broken that pact." Kirdei said as he left the room.

--

Kirdei strode across the room where he became his clan's leader. Before him was the door that every clan head had been through since they had established residence in Hakumei. Kirdei grinned with barely contained excitement and stepped inside.

Kirdei followed the hallway to a set of stairs. Kirdei's face split in an even wider smile when he saw the room the stairs ended in. The room was filled with hundreds of weapons. Swords, staves, knives, daggers, kamas, and several others lined the walls. They came in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors.

In the center of the room was a book on a table.

"Well that's a bit out of place…" Kirdei mumbled as he absently picked up the book and opened it.

_Greetings, young Tatsumaki._

_Because you have broken the seal and opened this book you have proved that you are already extremely powerful. Whether that strength is solely from your own hard work or from unlocking the secret power of the Tatsumaki matters little at this point. However it might also be that while you are powerful, you are not of Tatsumaki blood. If this is true I highly recommend putting this book down and leaving all thoughts of it behind. _

_Hopefully if you're still reading this you are indeed of Tatsumaki blood, the consequences are dire otherwise, but enough of that._

_Surely you are curious as to what this book is. To answer your question I ask you to look around the room. Hopefully you are surrounded by many weapons of all different types. Today you will have the chance to create a powerful weapon._

_My grandson, Shiromaru, and I worked together on the following ritual that will bind part of your very soul in to the weapon of your choice. The weapon will forever bear your will and strength even after you have passed on. Now, activate the Soshigan and choose your weapon!_

Kirdei blinked as he read the last word on the page.

"Right. My ancestors were lunatics." Kirdei said as he flipped the page. The rest of the book was filled with gibberish. Kirdei sighed as he dropped the book on to the table.

"But it might not be a bad idea to grab a weapon or two…" He mumbled as he slowly walked around inspecting the weapons. After passing up on several different weapons, a pair of daggers caught his eye. They were similar to sai except they each only had one prong. The hilts were wrapped in different color cords. One had a deep red color and the other was a dark blue.

When Kirdei picked up the weapons the room exploded into fiery light as seals suddenly began spreading out from the table.

"**Soshigan!**" Kirdei called out, activating his bloodline out of habit. A fierce wind ripped through the room and caused the book on the table to flip open.

Kirdei slowly pushed his way towards the table, weapons in hand, and was surprised that despite the winds the book had stopped on one page and wasn't moving. Kirdei slapped his hands, and weapons, down on the table and the winds stopped as suddenly as they had started.

"That was a bit weird…" Kirdei said as he picked up the book and looked at the page. It had opened to one of the gibberish pages. Except that one part wasn't gibberish anymore!

_Jutte, huh? That's an oddly defensive weapon for one of your strength but then who am I to judge? Your weapons will serve you well in the times to come. Right now they are no more powerful than any other weapons but as you grow in power so too will they. If you live long enough they might even rival or surpass the other artifacts in this world. By the way, 30 seconds after the wind stops the seals in this room will activate and complete the ritual. Good luck!_

_Nishi Tatsumaki_

_Shiromaru Tatsumaki_

"What!" Kirdei yelled as he spun around and headed for the exit. However it was too late. The seals pulled themselves off the wall and flew into and through Kirdei and into the jutte he had abandoned on the table.

Kirdei fell to his knees, clutching at his chest.

"It feels like there's a big hole where my heart should be." Kirdei said. Out of nowhere he felt like his chest was being tugged at. Kirdei pushed himself to his feet and spun in the direction of the tugging.

The tugging was coming from the direction of the table. More specifically it was coming from the weapons. Kirdei moved over to the table and picked up his new weapons. He was surprised that the color of the wrappings had changed from blue and red to black and white but was relieved that the tugging had ceased.

Out of curiosity Kirdei tossed his weapons back on the table and waited for the tugging to begin. After a minute or so of nothing happening passed Kirdei picked up the weapons and shrugged. It was too late to change things now and if his ancestors were right he had just gained powerful weapons.

Behind the table part of the wall began shaking and slid aside revealing a brand new room.

Kirdei grinned as he walked in.

--

Naruto watched the sunset from the roof of one of the building he'd been exploring in the Tatsumaki district. In his hand was the small fan he had purchased so long ago in Chiri.

"Sasuke…" Naruto muttered.

"What's that?" Someone asked startling him.

"Ah! What? Huh? Geez, Sakura don't sneak up on me like that!" Naruto said angrily as he sat back down.

"Idiot." She said with a laugh. "But seriously, is that a fan?"

"Yeah, I bought it back in Chiri village with some money the Doctor gave me. It reminded me of something but at the time I wasn't sure what it reminded me of."

"Sasuke…" Sakura whispered as she sat down next to him. Silence reigned for several minutes as the sun slowly dipped under the horizon.

Naruto was so consumed by his own thoughts that it took several second to realize his shoulder was wet.

"What the…Sakura?"

Sakura had wrapped her arms around his waist and was silently crying into his shoulder.

"…sorry."

"What?"

"I'm sorry! I should never have made you promise me to bring him back."

"_Naruto please…bring Sasuke back! You're the only…only one who can!"_

"Sakura it wasn't just for you that I decided to chase Sasuke down. If was for me too."

"I know, but…"

"No buts. We can't change the past. We just have to keep moving forward."

"Naru…" Sakura began when Naruto kissed her.

"Next time…we'll get him for sure."

"Yeah, next time for sure. We'll do it…together."

"Where's Kiba?"

--

Kiba suddenly sneezed, jerking himself out of his nap.

"Woof?" Akamaru asked.

"Someone must be talking about me. Maybe it's that damn Kirdei." Kiba said before yawning and lying back down on the roof he had chosen to 'keep watch' on.

Kiba never noticed the pair of eyes watch him from the shadows.

--

_Four days later_

Kirdei yawned as he pushed himself off the desk he was sleeping at. The room past the weapons room turned out to be a gigantic library filled with more books that Kirdei could count.

The first three days he spent in the library consisted of reading every book he could to determine if he should take it with him. Unfortunately everything in the room was filled with stuff that he deemed worth of bringing so he resorted to filling up as many scrolls as he could carry with books on the fourth day.

Now going on day five Kirdei had finally ran out of space and realized he one had enough water for another half day or so.

"And I haven't eaten since yesterday morning." Kirdei mumbled as he began walking back towards the weapons room. A short stair climb later and he was happily eating dinner with his extremely unhappy 'friends'.

"You idiot! You worried us by staying down there for so long!"

"We were about to send a search and rescue party to find you!"

"Too bad you didn't star…I mean I'm glad you didn't stave in there, Kirdei!" Kiba said when Sakura pulled out her gloves.

"I'm sorry for worrying you guys but at least we can leave tomorrow!" Kirdei said in between bites.

"Yahoo! We're outta this dump, Akamaru!"

_THWACK!_

--

The next morning found Naruto's group leaving the Tatsumaki district as the sun brought out the orange light that gave the village its name. Despite the memories that the place held for him, even Kirdei found a smile on his face.

Unfortunately, within a few minutes of leaving the village Akamaru began growling, then barking.

"What is it, Akamaru?" Kiba asked.

_thunk thunk thunk thunk_

"Paper bombs! We're under attack!" Naruto yelled as he grabbed Sakura and leapt out of the way.

Only Kirdei was unable to get clear when the bombs went off.

"Aww, looks like we won't get to play with Kirdei after all." Someone said through the smoke.

As the smoke began to clear, three figures in Akatsuki cloaks appeared.

"I'm not that easy to kill!" Kirdei shouted as the smoke exploded out from him. His eyes were bright red and a thin shield of red chakra was in front of him. "**Chakra Shield: 100 Percent!**"

"You shouldn't play around with your prey, Wolf." Kuroiaki said.

Naruto brushed the dirt off his clothes as he turned to face his newest opponents.

"You picked a bad day to…no way!" Naruto said wide eyed as he stared at the third Akatsuki member. "It can't be!"

"Naruto, what is it?" Sakura asked as she looked at the Akatsuki members. "B-but he's…!"

"Jiraiya-sensei?!"

--

This was another tough chapter to write! Also it took awhile to get out so please forgive me!

Fortunately, I still plan to have this story completed before September 1st so keep an eye out 'cause the next chapter is coming in quick!

**Jutsu Dictionary:**

**Chakra Shield: 100 Percent:** The special ability of the Soshigan to negate certain amounts of Jutsu damage. Because Kirdei has unlocked his fully developed Soshigan he can now control this normally random ability. Unfortunately, it is still very draining to use it at full power because it still uses the same amount of chakra as the jutsu it's blocking.

**Weapons dictionary:**

**Jutte**: Also called a Jitte, this weapon is particularly adept at defense when dealing with bladed weapons. The hook at the hilt can be used to catch and manipulate an opponents weapon, disarm him, or even snap the blade. It also had a shape point that can be used for stabbing things. Unfortunately, it has no blade so it can't cut things like a knife or sword can.


	22. Final Chapter: Shattered Twilight

As time runs short for this young Author, I proudly bring you the 21st and final chapter of **The Uzumaki Identity**. It's extra long to celebrate the occasion.

But first…

_**Special Thanks**_

These are the top three posters who have posted frequently over the course of my story.

Quathis

Crystalfeathers (Kita-Chan)

Uzukun7

_**Extra Special Thanks**_

Anne Camp aka Obi-Quiet

I haven't heard from Anne Camp in a long time but this story couldn't have been done without you. It was you who helped me out with this first fanfic. You caught several amateur mistakes and helped me to improve it by leaps and bounds.

Thank you

Sincerely,

Cerule

_**Warning:**_ This chapter will be graphic in some parts. You have been warned!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or the Bourne Identity. Probably for the best.

_Final Chapter: Shattered Twilight_

"Jiraiya-sensei?!" Naruto said in disbelief. Before him cloaked in the uniform of his greatest enemy was his late master and one of the legendary Sannin. "Wh-what are you doing wearing an Akatsuki cloak? This has to be some kind of joke!" Naruto said as he restrained himself from tackling the long lost Sannin.

Something was off about him but Naruto couldn't place his finger on it.

'His hair…it's orange! And he's got piercings…it's him alright…but why?' Naruto thought.

"Jiraiya…sensei?" The man asked as he stared down his prey. "Ah yes, I do recall something about you being his pupil, Naruto. Unfortunately for you, I am not Jiraiya. I am Pein, Leader of the Akatsuki. It's time we settled this little game of cat and mouse."

"Stop playing around, Pervy Sage!" Naruto said his voice shaky, "It's not even funny you know. We thought you were dead for several years!"

Sakura began to move next to Naruto. Naruto may have been in denial or just couldn't remember the abilities of Pein but there was no doubt that the man before them was one of Pein's bodies.

"I'm afraid that the Jiraiya you knew did die several years ago. In fact, I was the one who killed him. Now there is no need for any further bloodshed today if you'll just come with us. No one else needs to die." Pein said in a monotone voice.

Naruto clenched his fists as he slow recalled what he knew of the Akatsuki.

'That bastard, Pein. He killed Pervy Sage. And now…now he's using his body for…'

"You're gonna pay…I swear I'm going to track down each and every one of your comrades and bodies and break them until there's nothing left!" Naruto snarled. Pein simply stared the Jinchuriki down.

Then, nodding his head, he said, "So be it. Wolf, Kuroiaki, please take care of the other two members of Naruto's party. When you're finished apprehend Kirdei."

"What!" Wolf snarled, "We have to capture Kirdei? Why. That bastard should be put to death!"

"Tobi…is interested in speaking with Kirdei before he dies." He said silencing them. They would not cross Lord Tobi.

"Sakura I want you to take…" Naruto began.

"I want the girl. We have unfinished business." Sakura interjected.

"Fine, Kiba, you take Wolf. I'll handle Pein. Kirdei…sit this one out."

"What? Why! I can help you guys fight!" Kirdei said. Naruto simply shook his head.

"Not this time. These two doubt you," Naruto said, gesturing towards Sakura and Kiba, "Prove them wrong by obeying my orders and staying out of this. We're stronger than we look. We can handle them."

Kirdei looked ready to argue but sighed and stepped back. A sinking feeling appeared in his gut as he did. "Be careful, guys."

--

Wolf glared at Kiba and Akamaru as they began walking away from the rest of the group. "Why don't you just leave now, dog boy. I have no interest in fighting the likes of you. I only want to fight Kirdei."

"The likes of…you think you can belittle me! You are going down! I swear I will…" Kiba said before Akamaru began barking at Kiba.

"What the…Akamaru? You're saying…that he's that strong? Well we're stronger, right!? Let's hit him with everything we've got!** All Fours Jutsu!** **Man Beast Clone Jutsu!**" Kiba got down on all fours and began looking feral as Akamaru transformed into an equally feral Kiba clone.

"Let's hit him fast and hard, Akamaru! **Fang over Fang!**" Kiba yelled as they began to charge Wolf. Wolf blankly stared at the pair as they began their deadly attack combo. However, just as they were about to tear into him, Wolf appeared to the side of them and grabbed one mid-spin. Wolf brought his fist down on the back of the one he caught's neck, dispelling the jutsu and revealing Akamaru.

"What the hell!" Kiba yelled as he stopped his attack and turned to face Wolf.

"Hmph. Pathetic. Your attacks are way too easy to predict. And now your companion will suffer for it." Wolf said with contempt. Akamaru began thrashing around in an attempt to bite Wolf as he reached into his cloak.

"Hopefully you'll learn not to throw yourself at the enemy so recklessly…assuming you survive." Wolf said as he withdrew a katana. Without warning, Wolf plunged the blade into Akamaru's chest causing him to yelp before going limp.

Wolf slid the blade out of Akamaru and dropped the unfortunate dog to the ground and turned to face Kiba.

"A-A-Akamaru! You …How could you?!" Kiba yelled as tears began pouring down his face.

"If it's any consolation. He felt no pain. He was dead before he even realized what was happening." Wolf said.

--

Sakura had to keep herself from grinning as she fought her new nemesis. Unlike last time, she was actually fighting hand to hand and was managing to keep up with Sakura, rather that resorting to summoning the strange guardian that she had used last time.

It almost made her ashamed to say that she was enjoying her fight while Naruto was fighting his dead sensei's body. But it was just so exhilarating to fight another Kunoichi who had somehow managed to bring herself up to such a high level in such a short time, not to mention it was nice not to have to focus on being a medic.

As much as she loved helping people with her skill, she preferred not to have to use it at all.

Blocking a punch to her face and countering with her own sent her opponent flying back several feet. "You've improved since we last fought. The names Sakura Haruno. And you are?" Sakura said drawing a glare from Kuroiaki.

"Why the hell should I tell you? So you can go back and report it so I can be put in the bingo book? I think not."

Sakura scowled. Why is it that Naruto could talk to his opponents and at least learn the name of the person he's about to beat down but she couldn't do the same?

Sakura gave Kuroiaki her own glare before she rushed her, fully intending to smash her into dust.

That when she heard Akamaru yelp.

Skidding to a stop and turning around, she watched as the man known as Wolf casually dropped a sagging Akamaru to the ground and flick blood off of his blade. She stood their stunned as Kiba began yelling and crying before he ran over to check Akamaru.

Wolf merely turned and began stalking towards Kirdei. Kiba shakily stood and said something only loud enough for Wolf to hear. In the blink of an eye, Kiba and Wolf were clashing Kunai against Katana.

Kirdei used the distraction to run over to Akamaru.

Her opponent wasn't so concerned about Kiba and Wolf's battle as she was, however and proved it by kicking her in the side of her face.

--

Kirdei couldn't restrain himself from running over to help Akamaru the instant Kiba and Wolf began fighting again. Technically, he wasn't helping in the fight and he was sure Kiba would be more grateful if he could save the poor dog rather than letting him die.

The noise of battle faded to the back ground as he knelt down beside Akamaru. He wasn't breathing. Forming several hand signs, Kirdei began attempting to heal the damage done to Akamaru's chest.

Unfortunately, Kirdei was no medic-nin. He didn't have the skill or experience to deal with this type of wound.

"Come on, come on! Akamaru. Kiba needs you! Heal! Wake up!" Kirdei said getting desperate.

It was times like this he wished Kuroiaki and Wolf had listened to him.

--

Naruto never moved as he continued to glare down his opponent. The others were well into their battles and they hadn't even started.

"I highly recommend you reconsider my…offer, Naruto. All this fighting is pointless. All you have to do to end it is to give yourself up to the Akatsuki." Pein said in a voice similar to Jiraiya's.

"I won't ever give myself up to you!"

"Did you know I kept this body especially for you? I knew that a day would come when we'd meet and so after I killed Jiraiya-sensei I retrieved his body and created my 'Seventh Path of Pein.' I usually only keep six bodies at any one point but this one was special. After all Jiraiya was my sensei at one point too." Pein said.

"Shut up. I'm tired of hearing you talk!" Naruto screamed.

"As you wish. **Summoning Jutsu!**" A large cloud of smoke erupted revealing a large yellow toad. Naruto glared at Pein.

'He's even stolen Pervy Sage's techniques.'

"Fine! You want to play it that way! **Summoning Jutsu!**" Beneath Naruto a large orange toad appeared.

"Yo, Naruto! I'm so glad you finally summoned me! About a week ago all the toads started going crazy! They have these freakish eyes and…hey it's Gamatatsu! And he's got those freakish eyes! We gonna fight them?"

"Yeah, Gamakichi. That guy over there is the one who's messing with your family." Naruto said ignoring the fact that he somehow knew the toad's name.

"Well then. I'm sorry I hafta do this to ya little bro'." Gamakichi said as he drew his kunai. "All right let's go!" Gamakichi said as he leapt forward. Gamatatsu suddenly shot forward and caught Gamakichi's blade mid swing. "What the…Naruto something's wrong. 'Tatsu was never this strong!" Gamatatsu slowly began pushing forward, easily overcoming Gamakichi.

"Oil, 'Kichi! Spit out oil!" Naruto shouted.

"I don't want to kill my little bro!"

"He'll be fine! Trust me…" In that instant Pein used Naruto's plan against him. Gamatatsu suddenly shot out a jet of oil.

"**Fire Style: Toad Flame Bomb!**" Pein roared as he spit out flames, igniting the oil.

"Gamakichi!" Naruto called out.

"I know, sheesh! **Water Style: Liquid Bullet!**" Gamakichi spit out several blasts of water negating some of the fire.

--

Kiba could only glare at Wolf as he slung blood off of his katana and sheathed it. Ever since Wolf drew the katana he had to advantage in reach and his speed was incredible. So far Kiba hadn't landed a single blow on Wolf while he was littered with deep cuts. He'd be lucky if he didn't bleed out!

The appearance of two large toads wasn't helping either, especially when they started battling. Their first attack caused fire, water, and oil to rain down on the field making the ground slick!

'Damn it...I only have one shot at beating him…after that…" Kiba thought as he prepared to attack.

"I'm sick of this game, dog-boy. **Ninja Art: Wolven Form.**" Wolf said as his features slowly became feral.

"Screw you! **Soul Piercing Fang!**" Kiba shouted as he charged forward.

Wolf paled slightly as a hurricane of claws and teeth rushed him. It was no different than the first attack he and his dog had used but it was many times larger…he wasn't going to dodge this one completely.

Wolf bit his lip to prevent himself from screaming as Kiba's attack tore through his chest. If not for the extra speed his Wolven Form provided he'd have been little more than a splatter of gore.

Wolf steadied himself on the ground as he managed to push himself up to a kneeling position.

"That was for Akamaru, you bastard." Kiba said between gasps.

"I'm done playing around with you! **Wolven Art: Evisceration!**" Wolf yelled as he charged forward.

Kiba smiled as he stood his ground. 'So this is it, huh? At least no one can say I went down without a fight.' Kiba lifted his head so he could stare his death in the eyes. Kiba blinked when he realized Wolf had completely passed him.

Spinning around, Kiba gritted his teeth as he saw what had happened. At some point Naruto's summon had been dispelled and he had been hurt. Now he was kneeling on the ground completely focused on Pein, oblivious to Wolf's attack!

"Naruto!" Kiba called out as he charged forward. Somehow, he had to beat Wolf there.

--

Sakura scowled at Kuroiaki. She had grown far more powerful in the time since her last meeting and now it was pissing her off. Sure she wasn't nearly as strong as Sakura was, but it was enough that she was being distracted from helping her teammates.

She had given up healing the various cuts she had received so far in favor of conserving chakra and even then she was beginning to run low.

"It's unfortunate that someone like you, who relies on brute force to end a battle quickly, was matched up against someone like me, whose abilities as more focused on enduring a drawn out battle. These abilities that Konan-sensei granted me use minimal chakra but still are dangerous enough that you need to waste chakra on healing wounds that begin to bleed too much." Kuroiaki said.

Sakura hated to admit it, but Kuroiaki was right. The quicker she ended a battle the more time she had to heal fallen comrades, while Kuroiaki's abilities allowed her to maintain a battle and heal her comrades simultaneously. And her new chakra powered origami was as frustrating as it was dangerous.

She could only hope her friends were doing better.

--

Naruto's mind was racing as Pein dispelled his own summoning Jutsu and returned to the ground. Pein was far faster and stronger that he could have ever imagined. It was if he was fighting a super-powered Jiraiya!

"Now it's time to bring our fight to an end." Pein stated. "This was Jiraiya-sensei's ultimate ability. The one that took all six of my bodies to subdue and even then I lost one of them. Sage-mod…" Pein said before he was startled by the sudden appearance of Wolf charging Naruto.

"You fool!" Pein shouted. If Wolf killed Naruto with that attack then the Akatsuki would fail in its goals! Things began to slow down for Pein as he saw he plans falling before him. Then he noticed the boy with the dog hot on Wolf's heels. Perhaps things would work out if he had a little help.

Pein pushed out just a bit of chakra and focused it around Kiba's feet, urging the air to lend him some speed.

--

Kiba rushed toward Naruto with every ounce of energy he could muster. He wasn't going to make it, even he could tell. Wolf would tear Naruto apart with plenty of time to spare despite him only being half a step behind.

Then Kiba felt as though he was several time lighter than before. The gods must have been smiling upon him as he pushed forward. When they were less than a second away from Naruto, Kiba did the only thing he could think of.

--

Kirdei slammed his fist on the ground. He couldn't do it. Just like Wolf said, Akamaru was dead long before he hit the ground. He had tried his best but in the end not even a true medic-nin could have saved Akamaru.

Kirdei gritted his teeth as he stood and turned to face the other battles going on. Kiba and Wolf should have been closest…but they were gone!

"Where the hell…" Kirdei said as he looked around frantically. When he finally found them he only had time to gasp as Kiba took one of Wolf's most powerful attacks straight in the chest.

Kiba was knocked into Naruto causing both of them to go rolling but Wolf wasn't letting up. Ignoring Kiba, Wolf immediately began fighting with Naruto.

"Damn it! **Soshigan!**" Kirdei yelled as he rushed over to Kiba's side. He couldn't let two comrades die in one day. These people had trusted him, at least to some extent!

Kiba groaned weakly as Kirdei knelt beside him.

"Kiba, stay with me!" Kirdei said as his hand began to glow a soft green; his irises changing to white.

"Kirdei, don't…waste your…time." Kiba said as Kirdei pressed his hand on Kiba's chest. "Even…a moron…like…you should be…able to tell…that."

"Shut up, Kiba. You're going to survive and you're going to like it!" Kirdei said with a hint of desperation in his voice.

Kiba slowly reached into his weapon pouch and pulled out a box.

"I…wouldn't do this…if I…didn't…trust you, Kirdei…" Kiba said as he opened the box. Inside was a ring with a diamond.

"Kiba, I'm not marrying you." Kirdei joked, trying to raise Kiba's spirits enough to help him to live.

"Not…funny…" Kiba said with a weak chuckle. "This…ring is…for Hinata…Hyuga…"

Kiba suddenly turned his head and coughed up blood.

"Please…Kirdei…swear that you'll…make sure…she gets this…" Kiba said as he pressed the box into Kirdei's hand.

"Kiba, you can give it to her yourself when we get back! You're gonna…" Kirdei said before Kiba weakly hit him.

"Swear it…Kirdei…Prove that you're…worthy of my… trust…"

"Y-yeah…I swear I'll get it to her, Kiba." Kirdei said.

"Tell her…that…I love her." Kirdei released the healing jutsu as he nodded. Even if the damage to Kiba was less than it was, without a will to live Kiba wasn't going to survive. And he seemed content with that.

"I will, Kiba. Trust me."

"I'm…counting on…you." Kiba said as he drew in his last breath. Kirdei placed his hand over Kiba's eyes and shut them.

--

Sakura had noticed immediately when Kiba had fallen. Something had set her medical instincts off and she rushed to help him.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Kuroiaki yelled as she appeared in front of Sakura and slammed her fist into her face. Sakura slid several feet before she managed to stop herself.

"Damn it."

"Hey! Sakura!" Kuroiaki yelled as she flipped through several hand signs. "Remember this? Got plenty of new memories for you to feel! **Ninja Art: Nightmare Jutsu!**"

Sakura through her arms up in an attempt to stop the inevitable genjutsu that would drag her though a month of hellish training.

--

"Wolf!" Pein commanded causing Wolf to freeze up. "You will leave this fight to me or I will end you personally."

Wolf cringed but backed away.

Kirdei rushed over to Naruto.

"Kiba…is dead. We need to end this now, Naruto. I'm helping you whether you like it or not."

Naruto only nodded, holding in his grief for later.

"It's time to end this game isn't it, Naruto? _**Sage Mode**_." Pein's feature suddenly twisted and became horribly ugly. His nose grew large and several warts appeared. A large beard appeared on his face and his hair grew longer. "Now, do you believe you can take on Jiraiya-sensei's ultimate form?"

"I bet a good Rasenshuriken would do it." Naruto muttered as several clones appeared. As he was about to form his ultimate attack, Kirdei stopped him.

"Wait, Naruto. I've seen what happens to you when you use that jutsu! Even if you defeat him we still have Kuroiaki and Wolf to take care of."

"Well what do you think we should do?!" Five Naruto's yelled at Kirdei. "We have no choice but to try!"

"Let me handle the Wind manipulation." Kirdei said.

"What?"

"The part that hurts you most is the added power of the wind manipulation. I can't do the Rasengan or the Rasenshuriken but I can manipulate the wind easily with the Soshigan. My control is far superior to yours so I should be able to reduce the damage dealt to us."

"Right." Naruto said as he held his hand out. Two of the clones stepped forward and began spinning the chakra in Naruto's hand. Kirdei reached out and began applying the wind manipulation as they turned to face Pein.

"You're wasting your time. No jutsu you possess could possibly stop me in Sage Mode!"

"Grrrah!" Naruto yelled as the group rushed forward. Pein smirked and simply held his hand out to intercept Naruto's attack.

Above the sun reach its peak as they launched the attack.

The Rasenshuriken suddenly flared into a bright orange color. Kirdei dropped back seconds before impact as Naruto yelled, "**Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!**"

Pein almost grinned as Naruto's pathetic jutsu collided with his hand.

--

_Amegakure_

Pein's consciousness suddenly awoke in the body of Yahiko.

Something had gone horribly wrong. Extending his consciousness out to the other bodies he noted that the connection to his 'Seventh Path' had been obliterated.

Pein could only curse himself for underestimating the power of the Rasenshuriken.

--

_Outside Hakumeigakure_

A stunned silence prevailed on the battlefield. Wolf stood speechless as he watched Naruto's attack destroy Pein. Sakura and Kuroiaki had ceased their battle and watched in amazement as the sky above lit up in bright blue for the first time.

Kirdei refrained from cheering because too much had been lost that day.

"Kirdei, I am going to kill you!" Wolf screamed when he recovered his senses. "You betray us. Then you break our pact and you kill our leader! I will never forgive you!" Drawing his katana Wolf rushed forward.

Kirdei simply reached behind him and drew his new weapons. As he did a feeling of completeness washed over him and he settled into his stance and prepared to intercept his former friend.

"Now die, dog!" Wolf yelled as he swung the blade at Kirdei.

In the blink of an eye Kirdei caught Wolf's blade and slid up so they were standing face to face.

"I was thinking of you when I picked these weapons out. I know how much you love the katana and now I possess the katana's ultimate bane." With a sharp twist of his jutte Wolf's katana snapped at its weak point.

"Now, rest in peace!" Kirdei yelled as he swung his other dagger at Wolf's temple.

Kirdei was suddenly knocked away from Wolf.

"**I can't let you kill the newest full member of our organization just yet, Kirdei.**" Tobi said as he lifted Wolf up by the scruff of his neck. "**It seems I'll have to let you go for now, but I think you'll come around soon enough. I have high hopes for you **_**and **_**those eyes of yours and I don't think you'll disappoint. Kuroiaki, come.**" With those few words Tobi vanished with the remaining Akatsuki members.

"Kirdei Tatsumaki!" Someone called as they leapt out of the tree lines. "By order of Lady Tsunade, Hokage of the Leaf Village, you are under arrest. Surrender now or suffer immediate death."

The man was Anbu Black ops along with his team.

"Sakura Haruno and Kiba Inuzuka. You are also under arrest for charges of abandonment. Naruto Uzumaki you are also wanted for questioning."

Kirdei shrugged, sheathed his weapons, and raised his hands above his head.

"Alright, I give up. Nice to see you again Neji. I'm glad you survived our fight."

The leader ignored Kirdei and motioned for his team to cuff the fugitives.

"Kiba…fell in battle…and what remains of Lord Jiraiya's body is over there, Captain!" One of the Anbu called out.

Neji gritted his teeth. There would be hell to pay.

--

_Konohagakure_

Over the week-long trip back to Konoha, Kirdei managed to get a description of Hinata Hyuga from Sakura and Neji.

So when she greeted the retrieval party at the gate hoping to see her cousin and boyfriend, Kirdei instantly recognized her. Kirdei demanded a few minutes to talk with her. Neji agreed to let the one who had witness Kiba's death be the one to deliver the news to his loved one.

"Hinata?" The hand-cuffed blond asked.

Hinata nodded but was wary of the strange criminal.

"That's right."

"I'm Kirdei Tatsumaki, former member of the Akatsuki." He said drawing a gasp and an angry glare from the girl.

"Please, let me finish this is important. My job not too long ago was to bring in the Jinchuriki Naruto Uzumaki. After meeting him and traveling with him I learned I couldn't betray the man who had somehow become a close friend."

Hinata gave him another strange look. Where was he going with this?

"I abandoned the Akatsuki and fled with Naruto. We later met Kiba Inuzuka and Sakura Haruno on the road…" At the mention of his name Hinata began looking around for any sign of Kiba.

"Unfortunately, a week ago the Akatsuki caught up with us and attacked." The dots suddenly connected in Hinata's head and tears began to fall. "Kiba fell protecting Naruto from a lethal attack from my former comrade, Wolf Kasaikou. He asked me to give you this." Kirdei said as he turned around.

Hinata reached out and snatched the small box from Kirdei's hands. Upon opening the box Hinata put a hand over her mouth and began backing away.

"Kiba wanted me to convey his last words to you. He loves you."

Hinata suddenly slapped Kirdei.

"I hate you…I hate you so much!" Hinata yelled before running.

Kirdei lowered his eyes and allowed himself to be taken away.

--

_Hokage Tower: Tsunade's Office_

Kirdei was brought before the Hokage a couple days later. Tsunade never looked up from her paperwork.

"Naruto has been hospitalized and Sakura was assigned two hundred hours of community service as well as being removed from Anbu and demoted to Chunin." Tsunade said as Kirdei stood before her in cuffs.

"I see, Lady Hokage. But why tell me this." Kirdei asked.

"You are their friend now, are you not? I thought you'd be interested in their fate."

"And Kiba?"

"He was given a proper funeral befitting a Hero of the Leaf as were the remains of... Jiraiya."

Kirdei was quiet for several minutes as Tsunade signed several documents. Finally she sighed and looked up.

"I hear Ibiki didn't get to have much fun with you."

"We had an understanding. I also told him everything he needed to know." Kirdei said with a shrug.

"Kirdei Tatsumaki, I am not sure what to do with someone like you." Tsunade said as she rubbed her temples.

"What do you mean, Lady Hokage?" Kirdei asked.

"Technically, you aren't a missing-nin. You haven't committed any crimes against Konoha or the Land of Fire in general that can be proven. And you assisted in recovering an S-class ninja who was MIA on a very important mission. Tell me, what would you do in my position?"

"I'm not sure, Lady Hokage."

"I see. Naruto has told me that you swore you would stand by him and always be there to assist him. Is that true?"

"Absolutely!"

"You realize a man must never break his word, right?" Tsunade said with a slight smile. It seemed like she was just saying those words to another blond not too long ago.

"This is one promise I'll never break. Even if it costs me my life." Kirdei said with conviction.

"Shizune! Bring me a set of immigration forms!"

"Y-yes, Lady Tsunade!" The frazzled assistant said as she rushed to retrieve the forms.

"Kirdei Tatsumaki, if you choose to accept, you will become a Genin of the Leaf village."

"What! I'm easily Chunin level!" Kirdei protested.

"You're lucky I don't just execute you, you little brat! Besides you haven't even taken the Chunin exams yet!" Kirdei looked away and grumbled. He couldn't argue with that.

"Fine but you'd be wasting my talents with D-rank missions."

"I'm aware of that. That's why I'm going to award you a special rank. You see a long time ago a certain Jinchuriki made a habit of being outside of the village during the Chunin exams." Tsunade said with a grin.

"I can't technically assign a Genin to be a member or leader of B-rank or higher missions because of certain military protocols. So I created the rank Special Genin. It allows talented individuals who are unable to take the Chunin exams to take charge of and participate in higher ranked missions."

Kirdei nodded. "I guess that'll have to do, but you realize I'm going to sweep the Chunin exams right?"

"I'm counting on it. Release him." Tsunade said to her Anbu. Reaching into her drawer, Tsunade pulled out a Leaf Village headband and tossed it to Kirdei who promptly tied it around his neck.

"Well would you look at that. We have a group of Genin graduating this year with an odd number! I guess I can assign you to one of these teams. What luck!" Tsunade said with a evil grin.

"Wait. What? I'm going to be stuck on a team of rookies?!" Kirdei's scream could be heard across Konoha.

--

_Six weeks later_

Ino sighed as she watered the flowers outside her parent's shop. A week ago her Anbu squad had taken a particularly difficult mission and Neji requested two weeks off for his whole team.

That meant she was stuck with nothing to do for two whole weeks!

And so she was supplementing her income with work for her parents. After all, rent doesn't pay for itself!

Ino yawned and stretched as she finished her watering and noticed something weird way down the street.

"What could be kicking up that much dust?" she asked herself. "Whatever it is it must be huge!"

That's when she saw a blond man running straight at her.

"You!" He cried. "Miss Yamanaka! Thank the gods!"

"Kirdei Tatsumaki? What the hell are you doing?" She asked as he suddenly ducked behind her. "And call me Ino! Miss Yamanaka makes me sound old!"

"I'm sorry Ino! Look I know we've had our differences, but you've got to help me!"

'This should be good…' Ino thought. Kirdei leaned forward and muttered in her ear causing her to blush.

"Wait? What?"

"I'm being chased down by fan girls! Ever since I walked into that class of Genin when I first became a Konoha ninja they've been stalking me!"

Ino looked him up and down.

He had changed a bit since she last saw him in cuffs. Gone was his black sleeveless coat and in its place was a blue and silver vest. He still had his fishnet shirt and black pants but his hair, which had been a mess from months of travel, had been trimmed and tamed. Around his neck was his Leaf Village headband, gleaming in the afternoon sun.

She could see why girls were chasing him down. A girl could get lost in his eyes alone. Looking back at the quickly growing dust cloud a devious plan began forming in the mind of Ino Yamanaka.

"Please, Ino." He begged. "I'll do anything." Without realizing it, Kirdei had sealed his fate.

Ino turned to face the charging group of fangirls.

"He's going to be my boyfriend!"

"Yeah, right he likes me more!"

"You're too immature!"

"Like you're any better."

Ino grinned. Nearly twenty girls were arguing as they ran trying to figure out who would be best for Kirdei.

"There he is! Get him!" one yelled. When they got within a few feet, Ino took a deep breath.

"MINE!" Ino yelled at the top of her lungs causing the girls to skid to a stop. They attempted to burn a hole in Ino's skull with the combined power of their glare's but Ino stood strong.

"You can't protect him forever, Ino!" A brave one yelled. A look of pure evil spread across Ino's face.

"You dare think you can take Ino Yamanaka's property!" She roared. The group suddenly went wide eyed and scattered. They were young but not that stupid.

"Now Kirdei…" Ino said as she turned around. Kirdei was slowly tip toeing away from Ino. A quick look back and he noticed Ino staring hungrily at him. That's when he attempted to bolt.

"Oh, hell no, Kirdei. You're coming with me!" She yelled as she grabbed him by his collar and dragged him into her parent's shop while casually changing the 'Open' sign to 'Closed'.

--

_One Week Later_

Naruto, Shikamaru, and Kirdei sat on one side of the booth at a Barbeque Restaurant. Their dates, Sakura, Temari, and Ino had gone to the bathroom to 'freshen up'. Whatever that meant.

"So…Kirdei, you and Ino are dating…how the hell did that happen." Naruto asked with a grin.

Kirdei slammed his head against the table.

"I…I don't know…" he groaned. "I was minding my own business one day, and then fangirls jump me and next thing I know Ino's scaring them off and claiming me as her own."

"Sounds troublesome." Shikamaru said.

"It's not so bad. Once you get past the yelling. And the violence." Kirdei said sitting up while the other two laughed.

"Oh, honey. You make me sound like such a bad girl." A voice said behind them. "You know damn well how nice I can be." Ino said with a wink causing Kirdei to blush as the girls sat back down.

"Aw, look he's blushing." Temari giggled.

--

_Location Unknown_

A man cackled quietly in a poorly lit room. Before him was the corpse of a messenger who happened to catch him at a bad time.

Pushing up his glasses he began talking to himself.

"Well, it seems as though my plans are finally ready to begin. It's really a shame you're not here to witness them, Kabuto. It should be great fun!" He said with a serpentine laugh.

"Although, I suppose it's because of you that my plans are moving forward. After all, you integrated my remains and allowed me to take over your body after Itachi killed the other me. And this one won't need to be replaced until I find the perfect body!"

"You seem in good spirits, Lord Orochimaru." A girl said as she entered the room. The girl, Riku Mikkoku couldn't have been more than eighteen and with dark brown hair and blue eyes she was truly a beautiful girl.

"Ah, yes. Riku. Good timing. I have some news for you. It seems another member of the Tatsumaki clan survived. Kirdei Tatsumaki. Sound familiar?"

Riku squealed.

"Yay! Cousin Kirdei's alive! I'm so happy! Can we go get him?"

"A close relative of yours?" Orochimaru asked.

"Actually we're really distant cousins. Like 8 or 9th generation. But he's my boyfriend!"

"Interesting. Does he possess the Soshigan?" Orochimaru said as his eyes gleamed.

"Oh, Lord Orochimaru. You have no idea! He was the clan's prodigy! There was no one better! He would make you so strong if he was your subordinate!"

"Very well. You may go and collect him from the leaf village." Orochimaru said as he dismissed her. If she wasn't so useful Orochimaru would have killed the excitable girl long ago. But he could put up with her as long as she remained a useful medic-nin.

Once again his serpentine laughter filled the room as he put a hand to his face. When he removed his hand his own face appeared once more as he threw away the huge glasses Kabuto often wore.

"I thought I had lost the chance to possess the Soshigan and now the most powerful one has been dumped in my lap. Excellent!"

Orochimaru's laughter echoed throughout his hidden complex causing all who could hear it to shudder in fear.

--The End of Part I--

Woo! I did it! I completed the story in time! I hope you've enjoyed this first volume of what will hopefully be at least a two part series. With seven members of Akatsuki still gunning for Naruto and Orochimaru after Kirdei eyes problems for the Leaf village are imminent!

Well, okay I have to get through boot camp first so it's not that imminent.

Anyway, Thanks to everyone who has read The Uzumaki Identity.

Special thanks to anyone who has posted, is posting, and will post reviews. It's you guys who keep my motivation up.

Speaking of reviews. I would be soooo happy if this got at least 100 reviews. Currently there are 77 so if 23 people would step up and write words of encouragement, hate, love, whatever. I would appreciate it so much. If not…well there's always next story!

**Jutsu Dictionary:**

**All Fours Jutsu-** Staple Jutsu of the Inuzuka Clan. It enhances the senses and strength of the user to rival that of animals. The Kasaikou Clan's Ninja Art: Wolven Form is very similar to this.

**Man-Beast Clone**- another Staple of the Inuzuka clan. It turns an Inuzuka's partner into a clone of themselves allowing them to perform special attack while confusing their enemies.

**Fang over Fang-** A special Taijutsu attack of the Inuzuka clan. The user and their partner use a simultaneous Piercing Fang attack to constantly damage the enemy.

**Fire Style: Toad Flame Bomb-** A special combo attack used by a Toad and their Summoner. The Toad spits out large amounts of oil while the summoner uses a Fire Style jutsu to ignite the oil causing a large amount of destruction.

**Water Style: Liquid Bullet**- A specialty of the Toad Summons. The Toad spits out a large quantity of what is presumably water at high speeds.

**Soul Piercing Fang- **A high powered version of the Piercing Fang. It consumes a large quantity of chakra often leaving the user exhausted.

**Wolven Art: Evisceration**- Special Taijutsu of the Kasaikou clan. When in Wolven form, the Kasaikou clansmen can use this ability to charge their enemies at his speeds and, like the name suggests, eviscerate them.

**Sage Mode**- A special form useable only by those who can tap into 'Natural Chakra'. Jiraiya as the toad sage was able to utilize this mode with the help of Ma and Pa, two elder toads. Naruto went under similar training to use natural chakra before he lost his memories and can likely use this form as well assuming he remembers that he can use it.

**Twilight Rasenshuriken- **The unofficial name of the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken used against Pein. The Rasengan is a unique jutsu that has the ability to occasionally take on the attributes of its surroundings allowing it to increase in power. It is unknown whether this was an intentional feature or if the creator, Minato Namikaze, added it by accident.

The Rasenshuriken took on the orange color of the skies of the Village Hidden in the Leaves and killed Pein's body. Shortly afterwards the skies over Hakumeigakure transformed into a clear blue for the first time. It is unknown if the Rasenshuriken had anything to do with this phenomenon.


End file.
